Judges of the India Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to disclose their assets and make them available on the court's website. The decision, lauded by Indian political parties , legal authorities, and newspapers as a victory for accountability and transparency, was delivered by the 23 judges of the high court. The judicial watchdog group Campaign [...]
The UN Security Council should establish an independent criminal tribunal to investigate and prosecute those responsible for human rights abuses stemming from East Timor's 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, Amnesty International (AI) urged in a report Thursday. AI's report, based on a June visit to East Timor, claims that officials responsible for human rights [...]
The lawyer for former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Jawad said Thursday that the Afghan citizen will sue the US government for compensation for mistreatment. Jawad, who was detained in 2002 under suspicion of throwing a grenade at US forces in Afghanistan, alleges continuous, widespread mistreatment including that US soldiers made insults towards Islam and behaved [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding access to documents related to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) policy of searching travelers' laptop computers. The ACLU originally requested the documents in June under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and filed suit Wednesday in the US District Court for the [...]
Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure announced Wednesday that he will not sign a controversial law expanding women's rights, after objections by the country's High Islamic Council. The announcement followed a mass demonstration against the law by various Muslim groups on Sunday. Initially passed by the National Assembly , the law grants women greater inheritance rights, [...]
Chinese Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu estimated Wednesday that 65 percent of organs transplanted in China are from executed prisoners , contradicting the official posture that China has maintained for years. Huang's statement coincides with an announcement that China is testing an organ donor system in 10 provinces. The program is a joint effort between [...]
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted overseas interrogations that included sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation, and physical abuse, according to documents made available earlier this week. The letters and memoranda, originally sent to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel , were released Monday pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act suit brought [...]
The Venezuelan National Assembly unanimously gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a bill to ban violent toys and video games. According to the Patria Para Todos (PPT) , the party sponsoring the bill, the proposed law would help reduce violence in the country by protecting the development of children who can become predisposed to aggression [...]
The High Court of Australia ruled Wednesday that the Australian Military Court (AMC) is unconstitutional. The High Court held that the AMC employed the judicial power of the Commonwealth while AMC judges functioned within the hierarchy of the military, which was a violation of chapter three of the Australian Constitution . The ruling casts doubt [...]
The Michigan Supreme Court has permitted lower courts to use "reasonable control" over the appearance of those who arrive in court, effectively allowing judges to ban certain religious clothing. In an order issued Tuesday, the court amended the Michigan Rules of Evidence , motivated by the 2006 case of Ginnah Muhammad. Muhammad had filed a [...]
