Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans announced Friday that that his country will temporarily suspend processing all asylum claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Evans, a cabinet minister under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd , said that Afghani and Sri Lankan asylum seekers would be denied entry because of improved security situations in those countries. Sri Lankan [...]
The US Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation (MDL) on Friday consolidated more than 150 pending lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corporation and transferred them to the US District Court for the Central District of California . The MDL panel said that transferring the cases to California to be heard by Judge James Selna would make the [...]
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) released a report Friday accusing the government of committing human rights violations against the victims of Hurricane Katrina . The group criticized the response of officials at the local, state, and federal levels for being overly bureaucratic and lacking both accountability and leadership. As a result, according to AIUSA, low-income and [...]
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday that it will move forward with the first phase of its National Broadband Plan in 2010. The 2010 Broadband Action Agenda lays out the steps the agency plans to take in order to make broadband internet access more available in the country. The announcement follows a federal [...]
Italian prosecutors on Friday sought to indict Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on fraud and embezzlement charges involving his media company, Mediatrade, despite a new law granting the executive temporary immunity. The law passed in March and allows cabinet officials to postpone criminal proceedings against them for up to 18 months if the charges constitute [...]
The UK Parliament on Thursday approved legislation authorizing the suspension of internet service for those who repeatedly download copyrighted material illegally. The act also received Royal Assent and is now law. The Digital Economy Bill calls on internet service providers (ISPs) to block download sites, reduce a user's broadband speeds, and ultimately shut down a [...]
Resignation letter of Justice Stevens, Chambers of Justice John Paul Stevens, April 9, 2010 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that Azerbaijan violated parliamentary candidate Namat Aliyev’s rights to stand freely and fairly in the country's 2005 elections. Aliyev alleged that the government violated his rights under Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights , which ensures the free expression of [...]
Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook was acquitted Friday of bribery charges by the Seoul Central District Court. Han was accused of accepting $50,000 from former Korea Express CEO Kwak Young-wook in 2007 in exchange for helping him become president of Korea South-East Power Co., an affiliate of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation [...]
Justice John Paul Stevens of the US Supreme Court announced Friday that he plans to step down at the end of the court's 2009 term this summer. In a letter to President Barack Obama, Stevens wrote, "it would be in the best interests of the Court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in [...]
