The Mexican federal Third United Criminal Tribunal Thursday absolved former President Luis Echeverria of any criminal responsibility for a 1968 student protester massacre , despite ruling that the student massacre, which took place during Echeverria's term as Interior Minister, constituted genocide. Chief judge Jesus Guadalupe Luna announced that the tribunal found no evidence that Echeverria [...]
Peru filed an appeal Thursday against a Chilean court ruling denying a Peruvian request for the extradition of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori . Peruvian prosecutor Carlos Briceno said he was disappointed with the Wednesday ruling, but remained optimistic that the Chilean high court would reverse. Judge Orlando Alvarez rejected the extradition request and ignored [...]
Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders submitted a legislative proposal to prohibit the public wearing of burqas Thursday, proposing a fine of up to €3,350 euros or 12 days in jail for violators. Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom and who has previously made controversial remarks against Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands, claims [...]
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, announced reforms to judicial working dress Thursday, abolishing the traditional wigs , wing collars, and bands for civil and family court judges, as well as advocates in civil proceedings. Judges sitting in criminal proceedings will continue to be dressed in traditional attire. [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Glenn Sulmasy, a professor of law at the US Coast Guard Academy who made the case for a US national security court on JURIST a year before a recent op-ed backing the proposal ran in the New York Times, says that implementing a new court system will provide new opportunities for success [...]
The US House Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to defeat two independent bids by lawmakers that would have repealed part or all of the "Tiahrt Amendment" , which since 2003 has restricted the public release of information provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regarding gun sales. Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) Tuesday introduced [...]
The latest proposal for a UN-supervised independence plan for Kosovo has been rejected by the Russian government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday. The US, France and the UK offered the revision to a June draft resolution in an attempt to compromise with Russia and Serbia, which oppose independence. Previous proposals called for immediate [...]
Former Chadian president Hissene Habre , who has been charged with crimes against humanity, will stand trial before a Senegalese criminal court, rather than before a special tribunal as previously decided, Senegal's Justice Minister Sheik Tidiane Sy said Thursday. At an assembly last year, leaders of the African Union decided that Habre would face trial [...]
A panel of the US House Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to move forward with contempt proceedings against former White House counsel Harriet Miers after she ignored a subpoena ordering her to appear and testify at a hearing regarding the firings of federal prosecutors . The Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law voted 7-5 to [...]
United States of America v. I. Lewis Libby, US District Court for the District of Columbia, July 12, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
