The German Bundestag voted Wednesday in favor of heightened requirements for late-term abortions including a three-day waiting period and a mandatory psychological evaluation. Current law in Germany outlaws abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy except in circumstances in which the mental or physical health of the mother is threatened or when the fetus is severely [...]
Speaker of the Russian State Duma Boris Gryzlov said Wednesday that a proposal by President Dmitry Medvedev to allow parliament to select the head of the Constitutional Court will be supported by the parliamentary majority. Under the proposed legislative amendments , the 19 members of the court would no longer have the authority to elect [...]
Untitled DOJ Report, US Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs, May 14, 2009 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
US President Barack Obama is considering six possible nominees for the US Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice David Souter , including five women, the Associated Press reported Thursday. This six names disclosed by White House officials are Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, US Appeals Court judges [...]
The Italian Chamber of Deputies , the lower house of parliament, on Wednesday approved legislation that would increase the penalties for illegal immigration by a vote of 297-255. The controversial legislation provides that an alien who enters or resides in Italy in violation of existing immigration laws shall be fined between 5,000 and 10,000 euros. [...]
Former head of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and federal judge Jay Bybee , who signed off on memos detailing the legal rationale for enhanced interrogation techniques, has declined an invitation to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee , committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Wednesday. Leahy made the announcement during a hearing [...]
The European Commission (EC) fined computer chip maker Intel Corp. €1.06 billion Wednesday for violating European Union antitrust laws and ordered Intel to cease engaging in the anti-competitive behaviors. The EC announced that Intel violated the laws by giving computer companies rebates to purchase nearly all of their supplies from Intel and paying companies not [...]
Maggie Botes : "The International Contractors Association has a Code of Conduct to which all our members subscribe. It promotes integrity and professional conduct, and supports accountability for any misconduct or crime. With this said, our view is that any government or private contractor who commits a crime should be held accountable for their actions. [...]
In the first hearing on whether Bush administration interrogation techniques constituted torture, one witness before the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts on Wednesday called memos on enhanced interrogation methods "an ethical train wreck" and another witness claimed that the methods were not effective. Georgetown law professor David Luban testified : Unfortunately, the [...]
Judge Gladys Kessler of the US District Court for the District of Columbia has released an opinion to accompany last week's order granting the habeas corpus petition of Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainee Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed. In the heavily redacted opinion, released Monday, Kessler adopted a "substantially supported" standard for reviewing the habeas petitions [...]
