Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct, UN Electoral Assistance Division, the Carter Center and the National Democratic Institute, endorsed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, October 27, 2005. Read the full text of the Declaration . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman pleaded not guilty on Thursday afternoon to charges related to what prosecutors are calling a "widespread racketeering conspiracy" . Former Chief of Staff Paul Hamrick and former state Transportation Director Mack Roberts also pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Richard Scrushy , the former HealthSouth CEO who was acquitted of fraud [...]

Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky issued a statement on his defense website Thursday criticizing the Russian government and vowing to keep his case in the news: hoping that Khodorkovsky will soon be forgotten. They are trying to convince you, my friends, that the fight is over. That one has to reconcile oneself to the [...]

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party , led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, on Friday proposed changes to the pacifist language of the country's constitution, originally written by US occupation forces in 1947. Article 9 of Japan's constitution requires Japan to renounce the right to wage war or threaten force to settle international disputes. It also [...]

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has subpoenaed all 2002 e-mail correspondence to and from the three indicted associates of Rep. Tom DeLay , though the request was not made of DeLay. John Colyandro, Jim Ellis and Warren RoBold were indicted along with DeLay on conspiracy and money laundering charges for allegedly funneling corporate money [...]

UN officials have announced that Mexico will become the 100th nation to ratify the Rome Statute , the 1998 treaty creating the International Criminal Court , when Mexican officials deposit their ratification documents Friday. The court was established to try individuals for serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Its governing [...]

White House advisor Karl Rove has been told that he will not be indicted Friday by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the CIA leak case , according to reports from ABC News and Sky News. Fitzgerald is expected to announce indictments Friday in the two-year investigation into the leak of undercover operative Valerie Plame's identity. [...]

French President Jacques Chirac has called for an international tribunal to try Syrian and Lebanese suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri . The UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) submitted its interim report to the UN Security Council last week, which implicated both Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the [...]

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday endorsed a Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and an accompanying Code of Conduct in efforts to begin establishing new standards for international election monitoring. The new standards stress that human rights and democracy cannot be achieved without the protections of the rule of law, and require that [...]

In Thursday's environmental law news, sixteen firms, including Huffy, Lockheed Martin, Mobil Oil, and Philip Morris, have agreed to pay $14.9 million for polluting groundwater in California. In 1979, a contamination plume, measuring 1 mile wide by 8 miles long, was discovered under Baldwin park in Whittier, CA. Known as the San Gabriel Valley Area [...]