The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that data embedded in electronic versions of public records is part of the public record, and thus accessible through a records request. The court ruled in favor of David Lake, a sergeant with the Phoenix police department, who had requested access to public records regarding his job performance. When [...]
The interim government of Honduras and ousted president Manuel Zelaya reached an agreement Thursday allowing Zelaya to return to power conditioned on Supreme Court approval with a subsequent affirmative vote from the Honduran legislature. According to an interim government press release touting the agreement as the product of the Guaymuras Dialogue, a truth commission will [...]
Outstanding arrest warrants are the "biggest obstacle" facing the International Criminal Court (ICC) , President Sang-Hyun Song told the UN General Assembly Thursday. In particular, Song discussed the case of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir . The ICC issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir in March for crimes against humanity, but he has not yet been [...]
In re: Expungement of juvenile records and vacatur of Luzerne County Juvenile Court consent decrees or adjudications from 2003-2008, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, October 29, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on the case involving former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) unveiled the House health care reform bill at an event on Capitol Hill on Thursday morning. The $894 billion health care package, a combination of similar bills passed by House committees over the summer, would provide insurance to 36 million more people, extending coverage to nearly 96 percent of Americans. [...]
The Superior Court of Quebec on Thursday sentenced Rwandan Hutu Desire Munyaneza to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after 25 years for war crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide . Munyaneza was convicted in May on seven counts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes under Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War [...]
The UN Security Council on Wednesday called for an investigation into alleged human rights abuses perpetrated by the Guinean military junta during the September 28 incidents at Conakry . Vietnamese Ambassador Le Luong Minh , whose country currently holds the Security Council presidency, released the statement on behalf of the body: The Security Council remains [...]
Zimbabwe deported UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak Thursday, citing concerns over a meeting of Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders in the capital city of Harare. Nowak was detained Wednesday evening and placed on a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, the following morning. Nowak later expressed anger at being expelled from the country, [...]
Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) arrested three former Bosnian Serb policemen on Thursday on genocide charges related to the Srebrenica massacre . Dusko Jevic, Zoran Ilic, and Mendeljev Djuric were arrested in the northeastern town of Bijeljina after an investigation by the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH suggested [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday announced an international criminal treaty with the European Union (EU) that will greatly increase cooperation between the two governments. Among the provisions in the "Washington Statement," or "Washington Declaration," was continued cooperation in fighting the trafficking of humans and illegal drugs. One of the more controversial aspects of [...]
