The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases on Tuesday. In Pacific Operators Offshore LLP v. Valladolid , the court considered when an outer continental shelf worker, injured on land, is eligible for compensation under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) . The OCSLA governs those who work on oil drilling platforms [...]

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday on charges of abuse of power and corruption. Judge Rodion Kireyev also barred Tymoshenko from serving public office for three years and ruled in favor of a 1.5 billion hryvnias judgment against her. Despite the conviction, international support for Tymoshenko [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in two cases. In Blueford v. Arkansas , the court will decide whether the Double Jeopardy clause prevents the re-prosecution of a greater offense after the jury announces voting for a not guilty verdict, if a jury deadlocks on a lesser-included offense. Alex Blueford contends that jeopardy [...]

Syria has rejected calls from several nations for it to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a report adopted Tuesday by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) . The report also includes a number of recommendations to the country aimed at improving its human rights record which has been widely criticized since the [...]

An Egyptian court on Monday overturned a ban that prohibited presidential hopeful Ayman Nour from forming a political party and also prohibited the formation of the Islamic-based political party Al-Gama’a al-Islamiya . The decision will allow political parties previously banned because of their religious foundations to participate in the upcoming November parliamentary elections. The court [...]

Accused war criminal Ratko Mladic has been hospitalized suffering from pneumonia, his lawyers said Tuesday. Mladic is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on charges of genocide and war crimes allegedly committed during the Bosnian civil war . The ICTY confirmed that Mladic is receiving medical treatment , but [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Rashida Manjoo appeared in front of the UN General Assembly Monday to urge states to fulfill their obligations to prevent violence against women. Presenting her report on the pervasive, widespread violence against women throughout the world and its causes and consequences, Manjoo reminded states of their international human [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on governments around the world to “intensify efforts to bring to justice those responsible for grave abuses” in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , highlighted by the UN’s recent mapping report . A full year after the report was published, detailing over 600 violations of international law [...]

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Monday indicated Myanmar’s civilian-led government is planning dramatic changes including releasing hundreds of political prisoners and consequential dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi . Journalists, lawyers and democracy advocates are among the detainees to be released and pardoned , although no date has been set. [...]

Liberty University on Friday petitioned the US Supreme Court to review its case against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) . The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last month ruled that it could not review the university’s case until the health care law takes effect until 2014 because of a [...]