Juan Enrique Vargas : "Everything indicates that Mexico will soon implement a profound criminal justice reform that would share a great deal of the main characteristics of the reforms that have been introduced in almost every country in Latin America since the early 1990s. Once Mexico joins this process, practically every nation in the region, [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour Monday called on Israel to conduct an impartial investigation into the deaths of Palestinians during recent Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip , noting that as an occupying power Israel "bears a particular responsibility under international human rights and humanitarian law to protect the civilian population [...]
The US Senate Monday unanimously confirmed Illinois US District Judge Mark Filip as US deputy attorney general as part of an apparent compromise between the White House and Senate Democrats on a series of stalled nominations. Filip replaces Paul McNulty who, along with several other top Justice Department officials, resigned in 2007 amid controversy surrounding [...]
Former Rwandan councillor Vincent Rutaganira was released Sunday after completing a six-year jail sentence for crimes against humanity, according to a statement Monday by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ITCR) . Rutaganira was convicted by the ITCR in March 2005 after pleading guilty to one count of "extermination as an accomplice by omission to [...]
Nigerian opposition leader and presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Supreme Court of Nigeria to review last week's decision by the country's election tribunal to uphold the results of last year's disputed presidential elections , according to Monday statements by Buhari's lawyer. Buhari alleges that the election was marred by rampant fraud, but the [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday called on the 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to "create an environment of trust" and "spur greater accountability for action on human rights." In his speech at the opening of the Council's seventh session in Geneva, Ban emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency [...]
Arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the leaders of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) "remain in effect and have to be executed" despite requests from Uganda that they be withdrawn, according to a statement issued by the office of ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo Monday. The LRA has refused to sign [...]
An Iraqi court has dropped all pending criminal charges against former Iraqi Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brigadier General Hameed al-Shimmari "for lack of evidence," in part because many witness accounts were based on hearsay, Iraqi chief prosecutor Ghadanfar Mahmoud said Monday. The two high-level officials were accused of channeling millions in government money [...]
The US Supreme Court handed down decisions in two cases Monday, including Boulware v. US , where the Court overturned a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a criminal tax evasion prosecution. The Supreme Court wrote: Sections 301 and 316(a) of the Internal Revenue Code set the conditions for treating certain corporate distributions as returns of capital, [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will not seek a second term when her commission ends on June 30, the Washington Post reported Monday citing anonymous sources. While serving as the UN's top human rights official, the Canadian-born Arbour has frequently spoken out against rights abuses by world powers, including the United States [...]
