Twenty members of the Japanese parliament, the National Diet, formed a nonpartisan group Wednesday in order to delay the implementation of a lay judge system in the country. The group has concerns over rules governing disclosure and trial duration, along with the belief that the members of public will not be prepared make decisions in [...]
The US House of Representatives approved a bill Wednesday which allows the Treasury Department to ban certain types of compensation at companies which receive federal bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The Pay for Performance Act of 2009, which was originally introduced by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) , gives Treasury Secretary Timothy [...]
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that Venezuela would be willing to accept detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison. Chavez made his statements in an interview with Arabic TV channel al-Jazeera while attending the Second Summit of Arab-South American Countries in Qatar. In the interview, Chavez also called for US President Barack Obama to [...]
The Swedish Parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a gender-neutral marriage law, repealing a previous law on registered partnerships. The legislation would allow same-sex couples already partnered through the existing legislation to either continue their legal partnerships or to apply for marriage status. The law was opposed by the Christian Democrats , but supported [...]
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin filed a complaint Wednesday against Fairfield Greenwich Group alleging fraud for their involvement in the Bernard Madoff investment scheme. According to the complaint, Fairfield Greenwich acted as a feeder fund , giving their clients access to Madoff's investments. The complaint alleges that of the approximately $7.2 billion [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in Polar Tankers v. City of Valdez , where the Court will consider whether a municipal tax that falls exclusively on large vessels in the city’s harbor violates the Tonnage Clause (Art. 1 § 10 cl. 3), the Commerce Clause (Art. 1 § 8 cl. 3), [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday granted a habeas corpus petition filed by Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainee Yasin Muhammed Basardh, ordering his release from the prison. His detention came under exclusive review of the court after a panel for the US Court of Appeals for the DC [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion in federal court Wednesday seeking to set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment on corruption charges against former senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) . Stevens was convicted in October on seven counts of making false statements relating to an alleged corruption scheme and for falsifying his [...]
A lawyer for former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav argued Wednesday that judges in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) should release Kaing, also known as "Duch," away from his four co-defendants into a separate "safe house. The request came a day after Kaing apologized for mass torture and murder. Defense [...]
The US Supreme Court issued three opinions Wednesday. The Court ruled 5-4 in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett that an employee may not bring a statutory anti-discrimination suit when the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) prohibits such suits in favor of arbitration. In 2003, the plaintiffs' employer changed their jobs to positions they described as [...]
