A Japanese parliamentary committee Monday approved a controversial anti-terror bill re-authorizing Japan's support mission for US operations in the Indian Ocean. Under the bill, Japanese ships will be barred from refueling US ships involved in combat or humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, but will be allowed to refuel ships involved in anti-terrorism or anti-smuggling patrols. The [...]
The White House must preserve all of its e-mail records by saving back-up disks, United States District Court Judge Henry Kennedy ordered Monday. The order was a blow to the Bush administration, which has been fighting lawsuits brought by private advocacy groups Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the National Security Archives [...]
The trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision Monday setting the trial date for former Union of Patriotic Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga for March 31, 2008. The trial chamber also set December 14 as the date when prosecutors must turn over all evidence to Lubanga's defense lawyers. Lubanga is charged [...]
The reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan led by Musharraf emergency appointee Abdul Hameed Dogar indicated Monday that its full bench will hear a petition later this week challenging General Pervez Musharraf's November 3 declaration of emergency rule . Pakistan's independent Geo TV reports that former provincial minister Tikka Iqbal is arguing that only the president, [...]
Pakistani lawyers began returning to work in some of the country's lower courts Monday, one week after thousands of lawyers and law students protested against President Pervez Musharraf's proclamation of emergency rule , suspension of the constitution and dismissal of the country's Supreme Court. Following a Pakistan Bar Council call Friday, the lawyers agreed to [...]
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told parliament Monday that the government was planning to release 400 more Palestinian prisoners later this month, adding to the release last month of more than 80 Palestinian prisoners. The releases are meant as a gesture of good will toward Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in preparation for a US-sponsored peace [...]
Indonesian prosecutors on Monday announced the breakdown of court-ordered settlement negotiations with lawyers representing Tommy Suharto , son of former President Haji Mohammad Suharto . Indonesian law requires that parties try mediation to resolve civil disputes before courts may proceed with a case, but prosecutors will now go ahead with court proceedings in the government's [...]
Pakistani Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said Monday that the newly-reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan will next week resume consideration of legal challenges to the eligibility of President Pervez Musharraf to run for re-election while remaining Army Chief of Staff. Qayyum said that newly-installed Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar will likely adjudicate the cases after [...]
The Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice is stepping up its enforcement of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act , according to a report from McClatchy Newspapers. The law, commonly known as the "Motor Voter Act," is designed to make it easier for Americans to register to vote and to maintain their [...]
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Monday criticized procedures used by the UN Security Council and the European Union for blacklisting individuals and organizations on its terror list, adopting a draft report by parliamentarian Dick Marty that characterized the procedures as "totally arbitrary" and lacking in credibility. Marty's report said that the lists violate basic [...]
