The government of South Korea on Tuesday rejected a proposal by Japan to have the International Court of Justice (ICJ) resolve an ongoing territorial dispute between the two countries regarding a group of islands to which each nation claims possession. The islands, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, are believed to [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Oregon ruled in favor of the Vatican on Monday by holding that priests are not employees of the Holy See , the ecclesiastical, governmental and administrative capital of the Roman Catholic Church. The 10-year-old case was brought by a Seattle-area man who has accused [...]

A member of the the German Pirate Party filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights challenging a German law that requires pre-paid cell phone purchasers to provide valid identification with each purchase. Patrick Breyer, who filed the suit, believes that the law violates the right to privacy protected by the European Convention [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overstepped its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it issued a regulation limiting power plants’ emissions that cross state lines. The court ruled that the regulation, known as the Transport Rule, did not square [...]

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire on Tuesday revoked class action status in a lawsuit challenging the labeling of “light” cigarettes. The plaintiff, Karen Lawrence, filed the lawsuit in 2002 alleging that Philip Morris, Inc. deliberately misled consumers to believe that “light” cigarettes decreased health risks. The case was granted class action status in 2010, [...]

The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled Tuesday that the July 29 national referendum to remove President Traian Basescu from office is invalidated for failing to achieve the required threshold of 50 percent voter turnout. The ruling confirms the findings of the national electoral bureau, which finalized the national turnout rate at 46 percent , of [...]

The UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice urged the government of Tunisia on Tuesday to ensure that women’s rights are protected in line with the nation’s international human rights obligations. Kamala Chandrakirana, the head of the UN Working Group, expressed concern that Tunisia’s new constitution presents [...]

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Tuesday sought a life sentence for former Bosnian Serb army commander Zdravko Tolimir , who served under Ratko Mladic during the Bosnian civil war. Tolimir is being tried on charges of genocide and war crimes for his involvement in the Srebrenica massacre in [...]

The government of Uganda is harassing and intimidating rights groups and other non-government organizations (NGOs), Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday. The report, entitled “Curtailing Criticism: Intimidation and Obstruction of Civil Society in Uganda,” documents the ways in which the administration of President Yoweri Museveni has been cracking down on dissent. According to the report, [...]

Ukrainian prosecutors on Tuesday urged an appeals court not to hear the appeal of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko in her corruption trial. Prosecutors told the court that Tymoshenko’s trial had already established her guilt in the case, and asked the judges to let stand a seven-year prison sentence in the case. Tymoshenko was not [...]