Rwandan Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga said Wednesday that US lawyer and JURIST Forum contributor Peter Erlinder will be summoned to face charges of genocide denial in Rwanda. Erlinder, a defense lawyer at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) , contends that it is incorrect to place the blame for the 1994 Rwandan genocide on [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that Russia violated the rights of gay activists by banning gay rights parades in Moscow. Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseyev argued before the court that the ban violated Articles 11, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights . The court unanimously agreed, [...]
New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced Wednesday a new court rule that requires lawyers to file a separate affirmation confirming the accuracy of paperwork used in residential foreclosure cases. The new rule is effective immediately and has been added to the New York State Unified Court System residential foreclosure rules . Lippman explained that [...]
Myanmar’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will hear the appeal filed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi asking for her release from house arrest on October 29. Suu Kyi’s lawyers will present their arguments before the Special Appellate Bench, a multi-judge panel, in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw. Lawyers for Suu Kyi filed the appeal [...]
Two Sudanese men suspected of committing war crimes related to the ongoing violence in the Darfur region of Sudan agreed earlier this week not to contest the charges during an upcoming International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmation hearing, marking the first waiver of its kind for the ICC. Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed [...]
Environmental advocacy groups Defenders of Wildlife, Gulf Restoration Network and Save the Manatee Club filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against oil British Petroleum (BP) for the ongoing harm to endangered and threatened wildlife caused by the company’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The suit, filed in the US District Court for [...]
The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) affirmed most convictions of two accused war criminals Thursday but slightly reduced their respective sentences. Emmanuel Rukundo , a priest convicted of genocide, had his sentence reduced from 25 to 23 years of imprisonment . The chamber also reversed Rukundo’s conviction for genocide by [...]
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered parliament to review a constitutional amendment that gives the legislature the right to appoint judges. The court expressed concern over the ability of the judiciary to remain independent and out of politics if the legislature is allowed such power. This case came to the Supreme Court as [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a temporary stay on Wednesday preventing the suspension of the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. The one-page order granted the government’s emergency motion to stay last week’s decision from the US District Court of the Central District of California requiring the US [...]
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced a settlement in a class action discrimination lawsuit filed against the USDA in 1999 by Native American farmers. Under the agreement, the USDA will distribute $680 million to all eligible class members who alleged they were denied low-interest rate loans [...]
