The Icelandic Parliament on Tuesday voted 33-30 to refer charges against former prime minister Geir Haarde to the Landsdomur, a special court created to try government ministers. Haarde is the first world leader charged in relation to the financial crisis, and, if convicted, he could face two years in prison. Haarde is accused of intentionally [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a stay Tuesday allowing federal funding for stem cell research to continue pending a full appeal. After hearing oral arguments on Monday, the three-judge panel dissolved the temporary stay issued earlier this month so it could have “sufficient opportunity to consider the merits” [...]

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice (OSCJ) on Tuesday struck down several provisions of Canada’s anti-prostitution laws, citing the danger they generate for sex workers. Invalidated were provisions of § 210, § 212 and § 213 of the Canadian Criminal Code , which proscribe the keeping of a “common bawdy house,” engaging in communications for [...]

An Iranian blogger known for popularizing blogs in Iran has been sentenced to 19.5 years imprisonment for cooperating with hostile countries, spreading propaganda against the ruling establishment, promoting counterrevolutionary groups and maintaining obscene websites. In addition to serving his prison sentence, Hossein Derakhshan faces a five-year ban from membership in political parties and fines totaling [...]

The co-chairman of Turkey’s Peace and Democracy Party, Kurdish rights advocate Selahattin Demirtash was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday for allegedly promoting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) . A Turkish court ruled that Demirtash promoted the PKK during his tenure as a branch head of the non-profit organization Human Rights Association by [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in 14 cases. In Smith v. Bayer Corp. the court will determine two issues. First the court will decide whether, under the re-litigation exception of the Anti-Injunction Act , a district court can enjoin parties from seeking class certification under state procedural rules after denying certification to [...]

A court in the Somali state of Puntland on Tuesday sentenced a pirate to death for murdering the skipper of cargo ship in June. Salah Mohamed Gelle, considered a pirate ringleader, highjacked the MV QSM Dubai, along with seven other pirates, in June. The vessel had a crew of 24 and was headed to Bossaso. [...]

Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday urged EU members to stop forcibly deporting Roma migrants to Kosovo. AI believes that Roma, as well as other ethnic minority groups, could face persecution or violence upon their return. The report emphasizes the tension that has existed in the region over the last two decades and previous examples of [...]

A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday ordered a district court judge to reconsider the stay of execution in the case of Albert Brown. Brown was convicted of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl in 1982 and was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, in what would [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday ruled that a securities fraud class-action lawsuit against American International Group (AIG) can move forward. Judge Taylor Swain refused to dismiss the suit , which is led by the State of Michigan Retirement Systems and accuses AIG of fraudulent [...]