The US House of Representatives on Monday approved the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act , which creates a commission to investigate the cause of recent economic turmoil and allocates more resources for federal prosecutors to pursue financial fraud cases. The measure, already approved by the Senate, was passed in the House by a vote of [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Michael Kelly of Creighton University School of Law says that President Obama's recent announcement that his administration will reform rather than abolish the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay threatens to undercut his highly-touted efforts to bring change and improve international perceptions of the United States… Perception is a funny thing. Markets rise [...]
The new Bangladesh government should investigate torture, illegal detentions, and extrajudicial killings allegedly conducted by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) , according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released Monday. The report alleges that these Bangladesh intelligence and military agencies have tortured and executed persons held [...]
A coalition of progressive organizations Monday filed disciplinary complaints with five state bar associations seeking the disbarment of 12 former US government officials associated with the legal rationales behind the Bush administration's use of enhanced interrogation techniques . Complaints filed by the Velvet Revolution with the bar associations of New York, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, and [...]
Pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday in Myanmar for violating the terms of her house arrest. Suu Kyi allegedly violated these terms earlier this month by allowing an American man who swam across a lake to stay with her and faces up to five years imprisonment. Her arrest [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled 5-4 in Ashcroft v. Iqbal that a complaint filed against former US Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other officials by a terrorism suspect failed to adequately state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 and the Court's 2007 decision in Bell Atlantic [...]
Five Somalians suspected of piracy went on trial Monday before a Dutch court in Rotterdam. The men are accused of attempting to hijack a Dutch Antilles freighter in the Gulf of Aden in January. The Danish navy seized the Somalians in February and handed them over to Dutch authorities. While at least one of the [...]
The England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) on Monday ruled that the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies to UK troops serving abroad. The court found that the UK's obligation under the Human Rights Act of 1998 , which implemented the ECHR in the UK, extends in some cases beyond territorial jurisdiction, [...]
Ashcroft, et al. v Iqbal, et al., US Supreme Court, May 18, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
Secretary of State for Defence v. The Queen on the application of Mrs. Catherine Smith, England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division), May 18, 2009 . Read the full text of the judgment. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
