The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) formally began operations Tuesday. EULEX is a civilian mission under the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) replacing the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) . EULEX will assist and support Kosovo authorities in the areas of police, judiciary, and customs. Approximately 1,400 internationals, including [...]
Michelle M. Lindo McCluer : "For the first time in half a century, the President approved a military death sentence this summer. Army Private Ronald Gray was sentenced to death by a military court-martial panel in 1988 after convicting him of two murders, three rapes, an attempted murder, and a host of other crimes. A [...]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested Tuesday by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges of corruption . They have both been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. They are accused of conspiring to sell or trade the [...]
A federal judge in Utah ruled Monday that five indicted Blackwater USA guards involved in the September 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians must report to a DC court. Lawyers for the five guards tried to move the proceedings to Utah, where one of the guards lives, but a federal magistrate judge in Salt Lake [...]
Pakistani officials said Tuesday that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will not hand over to India any Pakistani citizens arrested in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks , insisting instead on a joint investigation with Indian officials. Several offices of the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have been raided as Pakistan intensifies its efforts to [...]
The Hebei Supreme Court in China on Monday rejected a class action suit filed against government-owned dairy farm Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. by the families of children who died or were harmed as a result of tainted milk. Lawyers for the families said that the while the prosecutor's office accepted their papers, it refused to [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in two cases. In Peake v. Sanders , the Court considered whether the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) bears the burden of proof that it adequately informed a veteran of the information needed to process a benefits claim under the Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) . [...]
The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Sunday announced plans to collect signatures to initiate a referendum to make the province of Basra autonomous so that it can benefit from its oil wealth. The referendum was initiated by Wael Abdul Latif , an independent member of parliament and former magistrate. Signatures will be collected [...]
Mike Dubrasich : "With her most recent decision, Magistrate Laporte is playing a game of judicial chicken, perverting NEPA, and causing catastrophic harm to the environment. Background: the Clinton (Dombeck) Roadless Rule was rushed through (by proclamation) in the waning days of that administration. It was immediately litigated in more than a dozen courts. In [...]
War crimes and other human rights violations are being committed in the ongoing Somali conflict , according to a report released Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . The report, titled "So Much to Fear: War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia," accuses all parties to the conflict of committing war crimes, including the Transitional [...]
