Philippines President Benigno Aquino signed an executive order Friday to set up a “truth commission” to investigate allegations that the outgoing administration engaged in corruption and rights violations. The commission will look into accusations that former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and members of her administration rigged the 2004 presidential election, misused government funds and profited [...]
Two prospective third party congressional candidates and six California voters filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to enjoin enforcement of Proposition 14 , which alters the primary election system, creating an open primary where only the top two vote-getters would advance to the general election. Proposition 14 was approved by voters last month and changes elections [...]
Jonathan Cohen, Pitt Law ’12, studied in Jerusalem as part of a program hosted by the Touro College Law Center and sponsored by Pitt’s Center for International Legal Education. He writes about the differences between Israel and the United States in the areas of judicial appointments and judicial review… This June, I took courses at [...]
Nick Nyhart : “With just four Republican Senators in play on the DISCLOSE Act its failure to reach closure Wednesday was no surprise. The original intent of the legislation was to blunt the impact of the disastrous Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Unfortunately, it became a political football for Republicans [...]
The UN Human Rights Committee on Friday called on Israel to cooperate with an international inquiry into the May flotilla incident , in which Israeli forces raided several Turkish ships bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip . The committee, charged with monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , made a [...]
Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to force Hawaii to recognize same-sex civil unions that offer the same rights as marriage. The complaint, filed on behalf of six same-sex couples, was in response to the veto of legislation earlier this month by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle (R) [...]
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Thursday indicted former Serb policeman Srpko Pustivuk for allegedly committing crimes against civilians during the Bosnian civil war . Pustivuk was arrested on July 13 in Bijeljina and has been held in custody since. According to a statement by the Prosecutor’s Office, Pustivuk is accused of [...]
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) on Thursday filed an expedited appeal asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to lift the preliminary injunction issued Wednesday against several provisions of a controversial immigration law . The appeal and motion for expedited briefing and hearing schedule asks the court to establish a timeline for [...]
The criminal division of the Thai Supreme Court on Thursday issued a new arrest warrant for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra . The warrant comes at the request of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) , which charges that Thaksin did not report all of his assets to the commission after the February ruling of the [...]
The Obama administration is in danger of entrenching some of the most draconian aspects of the Bush administration’s controversial national security policy, warns a new report, from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released Thursday. The report, titled “Establishing a New Normal: National Security, Civil Liberties, and Human Rights Under the Obama Administration,” concludes that [...]
