Spanish National Court judge Baltasar Garzon on Saturday appealed an indictment that charges him with abuse of power for launching an investigation of alleged war crimes committed during the Spanish Civil War . Garzon alleges that the indictment issued by Spanish Supreme Court judge Luciano Varela is politically motivated , compromises judicial independence and seeks [...]
Polish Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski became the interim Polish president on Saturday after elected President Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash . Komorowski must now announce the date of the next presidential elections within two weeks. The elections must be held within two months of the official announcement. Under Article 131 of the Polish [...]
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 [...]
