Kenyan troops tortured, raped, and committed other human rights violations against civilians during an operation to quell ethnic fighting in the country's northeastern Mandera Triangle region, according to a report released Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . HRW compiled testimony from victims in the region, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the area, and representatives [...]

Iran's Guardian Council of the Constitution on Monday certified the results of the controversial June 12 presidential election , officially sanctioning the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad . The certification comes a week after the Council rejected protesters' requests to abandon the results and start over after a partial recount ordered by the country's spiritual [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday ordered re-argument in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission on whether Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce and McConnell v. Federal Election Commission should be overturned in deciding the case. Both cases deal with the facial validity of Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) , which [...]

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison on securities fraud charges stemming from his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Madoff, 71, appeared before Judge Denny Chin of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York and was given the maximum sentence for the 11 fraud charges to which [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 in Cuomo v. Clearing House Association that the National Bank Act (NBA) and 12 CFR § 7.4000 do not prevent a state from enforcing fair lending laws against national banks. The Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) had interpreted § 484(a) defining "visitorial powers" to preempt [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday overturned a lower court ruling dismissing racial discrimination challenges to the promotion criteria used by the fire department of New Haven, CT. The Court ruled 5-4 in Ricci v. DeStefano that a "strong basis in evidence" that an employer would be liable under a Title VII disparate impact analysis [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in six cases. In Abbott v. Abbott , the Court will consider whether a ne exeat clause, which prohibits one parent from removing a child from the country without the other parent's consent, confers a "right of custody" within the meaning of the Hague Convention on International [...]

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam : "More than two weeks have passed since Iranians came on the street protesting against what they believed was an election fraud. The protests were cracked down by the pro-regime security forces and Basidj militia. They opened fire on the peaceful demonstrators. We still don't know the exact death toll following the crack [...]

The US Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has cautioned that Guantanamo Bay detainees tried by military commission in the US have some constitutional protections , the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. According the report, the OLC told the White House in a confidential memo that while federal courts may not extend all [...]

Civil Partnership Bill 2009, Ireland Department of Justice, June 28, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on same-sex partnerships.