Gen. David Petraeus , the top commanding officer of US troops in Iraq, told a gathering of reporters Monday that he was "greatly concerned" by a survey released by the Pentagon Friday that revealed many US troops in Iraq felt that Iraqi civilians did not deserve to be treated "with respect and dignity," that torture [...]
Indonesian prosecutors registered their appeal Monday against the acquittal of American Richard Ness , the regional chief executive of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation , and Newmont's local subsidiary on criminal pollution charges . An Indonesian court acquitted Ness and Newmont last month and after registering the appeal, prosecutors now have an additional two weeks to [...]
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday suspended an investigation into misconduct charges against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry . Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has been conducting an inquiry into Chaudhry's alleged misconduct, but Chaudhry appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the SJC lacked competence to try him. Chaudhry's lawyer told AFP Monday that the [...]
A defense lawyer for former Liberian President Charles Taylor told the Special Court for Sierra Leone Monday that potential defense witnesses are refusing to testify for the defense because they fear the possibility of UN-imposed sanctions. Lawyer Karim Khan told the court he planned to file a motion asking the court to grant witnesses protection [...]
The convincing victory of conservative French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy over Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal in the French presidential run-off election Sunday means that the incoming French president will have the chance to implement a series of tough-minded legal reforms he touted during his campaign. Stiffer sentences for criminal offenders and stricter immigration rules, [...]
The Turkish parliament opened debate Monday on an amendment to the Turkish constitution that would see the country's president elected by a popular vote rather than by members of parliament, as is current practice. The move comes the day after sole presidential candidate Abdullah Gul , currently Turkey's foreign minister, ended his candidacy when opposition [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Michael Kelly of Creighton University School of Law says that Capitol Hill proposals to repeal the 2003 Joint Resolution Authorizing Use of Force Against Iraq could be a prelude to a long-awaited confrontation between the legislative and executive branches over the constitutionality of the 1973 War Powers Resolution… Senators Robert Byrd and [...]
The Iraqi High Tribunal heard closing arguments Sunday from defense lawyers in the genocide trial of Ali Hassan al-Majid and other former officials in the Saddam Hussein regime. Al-Majid – Hussein's cousin known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali" – and his co-defendants are being tried for their alleged involvement in the slaughter of [...]
Suspended Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry appeared Sunday to raise the stakes in his defense against President Pervez Musharraf's charges of abusing authority, telling tens of thousands of supporters at a Lahore rally that the "Era of dictatorship is over" and that "It is the responsibility of the courts to defend human rights of the [...]
A report released Sunday by Israeli human rights groups B'Tselem and the HaMoked Centre for the Defence of the Individual says that the members of the Israeli security services routinely maltreat Palestinian detainees during interrogations and in some cases even "torture" them, as that term is defined by international law. The report was based on [...]
