The US military announced on Monday that the Guantanamo Bay hunger strike has increased to 42 detainees. The number was believed to be 30 last Thursday. The military attributes the increase to the recent seven year anniversary of the facility's opening. Another possible contributing factor is the upcoming inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama , who [...]

READ MORE

Gerald L. Baliles : "The lineage of the pardon power and executive clemency generally runs to ancient Rome. British practice in the colonial period and before, itself drawing on antiquity, was the immediate precedent for the presidential pardon power found in the Constitution. The power is broad, based on British royal prerogative: "The President…shall have [...]

READ MORE

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday began a confirmation of charges hearing against former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba . Bemba, originally arrested by Belgian authorities in May, faces war crimes and crimes against humanity charges for violations allegedly committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) between October 2002 and March [...]

READ MORE

The UN Human Rights Council on Monday adopted a resolution condemning the Israeli occupation in Gaza and demanding the immediate withdrawal of military forces. The council also decided to dispatch a fact-finding mission to investigate possible human rights violations. The resolution passed 33-1, with 13 abstentions. Canada was the only dissenting vote. The resolution comes [...]

READ MORE

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in three cases. In Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council , the Court heard arguments on whether the US Army Corps of Engineers may issue a permit for discharge of fill material otherwise subject to limitations under Sections [...]

READ MORE