The Court of Cassation of Argentina, the highest criminal court, sentenced former Argentine President Carlos Menem of selling illegal weapons to Croatia and Ecuador during his presidency. The now-Senator Menem pleaded innocence, claiming that the weapons were intended for Panama and Venezuela but were stolen and sold to parties that violated the country’s peace agreements [...]
Egypt’s Court of Cassation , its highest court, on Thursday overturned the jail sentence of former prime minister Ahmed Nazif and ordered a retrial on charges of illicit gains. The court overturned his sentence pursuant to Article 166 of Egypt’s 2012 Constitution , which states that charges can only be brought against a prime minister [...]
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Thursday used a presidential decree to bypass parliament in order to make changes to electoral laws in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s order to hold elections by July 31. The amended electoral laws ensure that all political parties have access to the state broadcaster and that the results of elections [...]
The US House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 20-12 in favor of legislation which would ban most abortions in the US after 20 weeks gestation. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act is based on the controversial premise that a fetus can feel pain by 20 weeks of gestation. As stated by the subcommittee’s Chairman Bob [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on Cambodia’s donors to oppose a land titling campaign created by Prime Minister Hun Sen, alleging that it lacks accountability and transparency and is prone to abuse. Hun Sen announced on Monday that the program will be suspended until after the country’s national elections. HRW Asia Director Brad [...]
The US Supreme Court on Thursday issued a new regulation barring any demonstration within the Supreme Court building or grounds, excluding the surrounding sidewalks, if the activity is “reasonably likely to draw a crowd or onlookers.” In order to “maintain suitable order and decorum within the Supreme Court building and grounds,” the Court passed the [...]
Activist attorney and former government prosecutor Larry Klayman filed a class action lawsuit on Wednesday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia , challenging the government’s recently revealed phone data collection. Klayman, founder of the political advocacy group Freedom Watch , claims the surveillance practices violate citizens’ reasonable expectation of privacy, their [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay announced Thursday that the death toll in the Syrian conflict has now reached at least 93,000. According to the UN’s data specialists, this estimate represents only recorded deaths where the name, location and date of death were reported. For those casualties lacking one or more identifying values, [...]
Judge Edward Korman of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday approved the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to make the Plan B emergency contraceptive available over-the-counter to women of all ages. In an effort to comply with the judge’s April ruling , the FDA has approved the [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in United States v. Davila that judicial participation in plea negotiations does not automatically require vacatur of a defendant’s guilty plea. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1) provides that “he court must not participate in discussions.” Rule 11(h) states: “A variance from the requirements of this rule is harmless [...]
