JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that Judge Michael Mukasey's written response to Senate Judiciary Committee follow-up inquiries concerning his views on the legality of waterboarding and torture demonstrate views of America's obligations under international law so limited and problematic that he should not be confirmed… Judge [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Marc Falkoff of Northern Illinois University College of Law says the recent resignation of Guantanamo chief military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis and his remarkable public conversion from champion of the military commissions to one of their most devastating critics may finally signal to the American public that politics rather than principle reigns [...]
The Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal has denied former Australian Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib a request to regain his passport, Habib's lawyer said Friday, citing his likelihood "to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of Australia or of a foreign country" if Habib were allowed to travel outside Australia. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada Thursday affirmed by 5-4 the murder conviction of a British Columbia man in a case widely seen as a test of the right to remain silent guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Jagrup Singh alleged that the police had violated his constitutional right to remain silent [...]
Victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings expressed outrage Thursday and vowed to appeal after a Spanish court acquitted seven of 28 co-defendants accused of participating in the attacks, including alleged mastermind Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed . Three defendants were convicted of murder Wednesday and 18 others were found guilty of lesser charges. Jesus Abril, [...]
The Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision Thursday upholding the state's lethal injection procedures and rejecting the assertion that the state's protocol constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment." The US Supreme Court currently has on its docket a case challenging lethal injection as unconstitutional, and earlier this week the Court granted a stay of execution [...]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday renewed its call for access to detainees still being held in Myanmar after the government's crackdown last month on opponents of the ruling military junta. In his second statement calling for access to detainees in the past two weeks, ICRC Director of Operations Pierre Kraehenbuehl, [...]
Bosnian Prime Minister Nikola Spiric resigned Thursday, reportedly in protest over proposed voting rule reforms for the Bosnian parliament. Miroslav Lajcak , a Slovak diplomat who is the high representative to the Peace Implementation Council , introduced the new voting rules Wednesday ostensibly designed to streamline the country's reform process. The PIC is the international [...]
The government of Ireland said Thursday it will introduce new legislation next year recognizing the rights of both same-sex and unmarried heterosexual couples to enter into civil unions, after debate on a motion to restore the Civil Unions Bill 2006 stalled in the Irish Parliament . The opposition Irish Labour Party re-introduced the bill, previously [...]
US President George W. Bush on Thursday defended the refusal of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey to say that waterboarding is illegal. During a press conference Thursday, Bush said: I've submitted a highly competent, smart, independent nominee in Judge Mukasey to the Senate. I am disappointed that the process is taking so long to get [...]
