The Italian Chamber of Deputies approved legislation by a vote of 314-296 Wednesday to shorten the statute of limitations for criminal trials of defendants who do not have prior convictions. The Italian Senate passed a similar version last January, to protect citizens against an infinite duration of judicial processes. The bill is part of a [...]
A judge for Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that the country’s marijuana laws are unconstitutional. Justice David Taliano invalidated the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) , finding that the program’s mechanisms for licensing patients to access medical marijuana are insufficient. These inadequate licensing procedures led Taliano to also strike down portions of the [...]
The lawyer for alleged Nazi concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk requested Wednesday that Demjanjuk’s trial for accomplice to murder be suspended in order to investigate an Associated Press report stating that a recently declassified FBI field report questions the authenticity of key evidence used in the prosecution. Ulrich Busch, Demjanjuk’s lawyer, requested the suspension to [...]
Spanish Judge Eloy Velasco announced Wednesday that the National Court would not investigate six Bush administration officials pursuant to torture claims from Guantanamo Bay , in response to a letter from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) . The letter assured Spain that the US is investigating the treatment of detainees and has already completed [...]
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) on Tuesday announced the signing of two pieces of legislation restricting abortions in the state. The Abortion Reporting Accuracy and Parental Rights Act requires unemancipated minors to obtain notarized parental signatures before an abortion may be performed, and the “fetal pain bill” restricts abortions beyond 22 weeks of pregnancy based [...]
Uruguay’s Senate voted 16-15 Tuesday to overturn a 1986 law granting amnesty to members of the military junta that ruled the country between 1973 and 1985. The decision to repeal Uruguay’s Expiry Law means that courts will be able to prosecute military leaders whom many claim committed crimes against humanity during the junta’s rule. The [...]
The UN announced on Tuesday the completion of a report on allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka, but Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the report would not be released until President Mahinda Rajapaksa has time to review it. This has prompted criticism from Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI), which demanded the report [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) announced on Tuesday the appointment of three “high-level experts” to lead the Commission of Inquiry charged with investigating allegations of human rights abuses in the Ivory Coast following elections. The appointments include Vitit Muntabhorn, a professor of law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, who will serve as the Chair [...]
Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was hospitalized Tuesday before he was scheduled to appear before Egypt’s public prosecutor for questioning about his alleged roles in protester deaths and embezzlement of government money. The chief prosecutor on Sunday summoned Mubarak for questioning, along with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa. Egyptian authorities continued to question Mubarak’s [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Monday pointed to the executions of opposition fighters as the most recent evidence that forces supporting Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi continue to commit war crimes. Researchers from AI were shown the bodies of two individuals whose hands and feet had been bound, suggesting their deaths were the result of deliberate killings [...]
