Members of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have harshly criticized a proposal by Russian officials to detain relatives of terrorists to discourage hostage-taking. Such a proposal would violate international law, according to UN human...

The Washington state Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence, ruling that the jury may have been prejudiced by the sight of ankle shackles on the defendant, Cecil E. Davis. Davis was convicted of murdering a 65-year-old neighbor, but...

A military lawyer has recommended that a Navy SEAL accused of abusing prisoners in Iraq should not be court-martialed, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday. The lawyer instead recommended a nonjudicial punishment for the SEAL. The decision on whether...

A Saskatchewan judge has ruled that a Canadian federal law on marriage is unconsitutional, making it the seventh jurisdiction in the country to approve same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to rule on proposed legislation legalizing...

The Japanese Ministry of Justice has warned in a report Friday that the country's prison system is overwhelmed, with some prisons unable to accommodate any more prisoners. The system is at about 117 percent capacity, which is the highest...

A website for Canada's Citizenship and Immigration agency was flooded with US visitors following the news of Tuesday's elections results. Officials said American traffic on the site was six times higher than normal, and the previous record for hits...

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol Friday, completing Russia's ratification of the treaty and giving the global warming accord enough signatures to come into force as early as next year. The treaty now has the backing of...

Incoming European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has finalized a new team of commissioners that appeared to put the power transition of the European Union back on track. Most notably, Barroso replaced controversial Justice portfolio nominee Rocco Buttiglione with...

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, Nov. 5.The Cato Institute is holding a briefing on Congressional legislation of computer spyware, featuring Orson Swindle of the Federal Trade Commission. Audio...

Senior UN official Jan Pronk told the UN Security Council Thursday that unless African Union troops enter the Sudan's Darfur region soon, the entire region might fall into anarchy. Pronk, the UN envoy for Darfur, said that rebels were...