Presenting the legislative agenda for the 2004-2005 session of Parliament, the British government has pledged to introduce "legislation to increase security for all." In the Queen's speech, read Tuesday morning, proposals to create a "British FBI," introduce a national ID card system and extend the taking of DNA samples from prisoners were announced. A draft [...]
The International Conference on Iraq opened Tuesday in Egypt, addressing security concerns, election procedures, and the insurgency problems the fledgling democracy faces. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on the world to support the election process in Iraq, as well as speed up the actual production of the $30 billion (USD) that has been promised for [...]
Reacting to a new report concluding that federal enforcement of civil rights laws declined sharply during the Bush administration, a Justice Department spokesman has said that "this administration believes in and has vigorously enforced the criminal civil rights laws." The study, released by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, concluded that federal prosecutors filed charges [...]
Iraq's Interim Defense Minister Hazim Shaalan told Arabic newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Tuesday that Saddam Hussein will go on trial for crimes against humanity before the end of the year. Shaalan also said that the deteriorating security situation in Iraq was impeding the collection of evidence against Saddam and other former Iraqi officials. Saddam will tried [...]
In response to last week's assassination of a top Venezuelan prosecutor, President Hugo Chavez has ordered government ministries to urgently devise and implement a plan to combat terrorism. Former police inspector Ivan Simonovis has been detained in the investigation of the assassination of Danilo Anderson, who was prosecuting a case against 400 political figures and [...]
Lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the New York chapter of the National Lawyers Guild have filed a class action suit against New York city officials, saying the officials violated the constitutional rights of protestors by orchestrating massive arrests and detentions during the Republican National Convention. Initially filed on behalf of twenty-three people, [...]
In Tuesday's environmental law news, signatories of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer meet this week to discuss the progress that has been made in the reduction of ozone depleting substances (ODS). It is expected that at least 17 developed countries will ask for an extension of the final phase [...]
Congress has approved a program that creates a federal copyright enforcement czar, as part of the omnibus spending bill passed over the weekend. Under the new legislation, the president can appoint a copyright law enforcement officer to coordinate federal agencies responsible for administering intellectual property law and law enforcement efforts to stop international copyright infringement. [...]
Three UN workers who were kidnapped in Afghanistan while helping to conduct the recent Afghan presidential election were released unharmed Tuesday morning. As previously reported on JURIST's Paper Chase, the hostage-takers had said they would release the UN workers in exchange for the release of 26 Afghan prisoners, some of whom are believed to be [...]
Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, November 23. The US House and Senate are in recess. The US House will reconvene on Monday, December 6 at 2 PM. The US Senate will reconvene on Tuesday, December 7 at 9:30 AM. US Army General Paul Kern [...]
