UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro on Tuesday praised the nations that have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and urged more states to join the convention at the First Meeting of States Parties . The CCM, which went into effect as binding international law in August, bans the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of [...]
The Czech Republic continues to discriminate against Roma school children despite a court order, according to a complaint filed Monday with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe by the Open Society Justice Initiative, the European Roma Rights Centre and the Greek Helsinki Monitor . The groups allege that the Czech government has [...]
The UK High Court on Wednesday granted a request to review the nation’s Digital Economy Act , which is aimed at the prevention of online copyright infringement. The claim was filed by UK Internet service providers (ISPs) BT Group PLC and TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC in July in response to the legislation being rushed through [...]
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) faces harmful opposition and political interference from the Cambodian government, the chief defense lawyer said Wednesday. Announcing his resignation, Richard Rogers said that the tribunal, established by the UN and the Cambodian government to prosecute former Khmer Rouge leaders, may be unable to continue its prosecutions [...]
The Daxing District People’s Court of China on Wednesday convicted Zhao Lianhai for disturbing the social order during the tainted-milk scandal, sentencing him to two-and-a-half years in prison. In 2008, melamine-tainted milk from China was blamed for the deaths of six infants, and the Chinese government promised that all tainted product would be seized and [...]
Jury selection began Tuesday in the case of five Somali men accused of an April attack on the USS Nichols, which was deployed to combat piracy in waters off the eastern coast of Africa. In July, the men pleaded not guilty to a number of charges, including conspiracy, piracy and attack with the intent to [...]
No criminal charges will be brought against Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials for destroying videotapes of controversial interrogations of terror suspects during the Bush administration, a federal prosecutor announced Tuesday. US Department of Justice (DOJ) special prosecutor John Durham “has concluded that he will not pursue criminal charges for the destruction of the interrogation videotapes,” [...]
The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed separate federal lawsuits Tuesday challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) . In GLAD’s lawsuit , several plaintiffs are challenging the denial of certain marriage benefits and protections that are available to similarly situation heterosexual couples in Connecticut, New [...]
The French Court of Cassation ruled Tuesday that an investigation into assets obtained in France by three African leaders can proceed. The initial complaint in the case, filed by anti-corruption groups Transparency International (TI) and SHERPA , accused the late Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Teodoro [...]
The high court of Mombasa ruled Tuesday that Kenya does not have jurisdiction outside of its national waters, releasing nine suspected Somali pirates . Citing the repeal of Chapter VIII, section 69 of the Kenyan penal code as the basis for his decision, Justice Mohamed Ibrahim concluded that the suspects, who were arrested in March [...]
