US President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA) into law on Thursday. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for military activities for 2013, expressly prohibits using funds to transfer individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay and also prohibits using funds to construct facilities in the US intended to house Guantanamo detainees. Obama [...]
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Thursday ruled that the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake were unlawful. The court held that the parliamentary committee does not have the authority to investigate or proceed with the impeachment of a senior judge; these tasks are left to the judiciary. Thus, by stepping into the [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for disclosure of tactics used by the US to assassinate suspected terrorists. The request had been filed by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the New York Times in 2010. They [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday dismissed a false advertising claim by Apple against Amazon over the use of the term “APP STORE” for the Android device software. While Apple claims that Amazon misused the phrase to solicit developers, Amazon counters that the phrase has become [...]
A study carried out by the the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has found that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict in Syria since March 2011. According to the report, the average number of deaths per month has increased significantly since the summer of 2011, where [...]
A judge for the US District Court of Northern California on Monday denied a request by Samsung Electronics to keep sales data for some its products sealed in its long-running patent dispute with Apple . Samsung had sought to delay the implementation of a December 10 ruling by Judge Lucy Koh until its appeal is [...]
Opponents of the newly signed Reproductive Health legislation petitioned the Supreme Court of the Philippines on Wednesday to stop implementation of the law, which is set to go into effect by mid-January. The petition for injunction was filed by James Imbong, son of the legal counsel for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) [...]
The US supports efforts in Lebanon to implement parliamentary elections, and encourages a timely and transparent election process, according to a statement made Monday by Ambassador Maura Connelly . The statement was made after the ambassador met with President of the Chamber of Deputies Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss “the political and security situation in [...]
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed new legislation on Monday establishing education standards and setting new guidelines for educators’ salaries and school fees. The legislation has been previously approved by both the State Duma and the Federation Council . The newly enacted legislation requires a mandatory course to teach the fundamentals of religion. The cost of [...]
Threats and attacks against judges and lawyers who fight for the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka have increased in past few months, according to UN independent expert Gabriela Knaul . The focus of her criticism was the impeachment proceeding against Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake that began in early November. Knaul condemned [...]
