The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus brief on Thursday with the California Supreme Court arguing that undocumented immigrants should not be able to practice law in the US even if they passed a state bar exam. California’s high court sought the DOJ’s guidance in the pending case of an undocumented immigrant, Sergio [...]

A cousin of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic has admitted that he hid the accused war criminal in his house for five years, according to a local news agency. Branislav Mladic stated that he nursed his cousin for five years until he was arrested in 2011. Serbian authorities are considering what actions to [...]

The Colombia Ministry of Justice on Friday announced a new initiative to solve the problem of overcrowding in the nation’s prisons. INPEC , Colombia’s prison institute, has begun the transfer of 800 inmates from “La Modelo” prisons in Bogota and Cali to less crowded detention centers elsewhere in the country. Such transfers, along with house [...]

A federal court in Brazil on Wednesday ordered Chevron and drilling company Transocean to suspend all oil drilling in Brazil within 30 days in the wake of two oil spills off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A judge for Brazil’s Regional Federal Court of the Second Region ruled that each company must pay 500 [...]

An Iraqi court on Thursday rejected a US extradition request for Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq. The court also ruled that Daqduq should be released immediately from his house arrest. In May an Iraqi court had cleared all charges against Daqduq. The court stated that Iraq could not extradite someone whose charges were dropped. He [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Phelim Kine, Senior Researcher of the Asia Division at Human Rights Watch, says that the increasing public challenges to the Chinese government’s authority will only continue until its policies reflect a basic respect for human rights and the right of the citizenry to publicly dissent…

Slovakian authorities on Thursday announced that they have filed new charges against a 97-year-old Hungarian man arrested in Budapest last month on allegations of abusing and helping deport thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. The charges concern facilitating the deportation of Jews to Germany, and the case in Slovakia means that extradition proceedings may now [...]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday nullified the Contempt of Court Bill 2012 which was passed to shield the country’s new prime minister from contempt charges. The bill was passed by the upper and lower houses of the national parliament and signed by President Asif Ali Zardari last month. The court held that the [...]

A trial court in Minnesota ruled on Wednesday that the state’s Defense of Marriage Act does not prohibit partners in same-sex couples from inheriting each other’s assets. A judge for the Hennepin County District Court declared that while the Defense of Marriage Act bars same-sex couples from marrying, it does not prevent same-sex couples from [...]

The Egyptian government announced Thursday that it has requested the release of the last of its citizens currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Egyptian Tarek al-Sawah, 54, has been held at Guantanamo for 11 years without charges or trial. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel requested al-Sawah’s release in a letter to US [...]