The Supreme Court of the Philippines on Tuesday ruled that a proposed “truth commission” created to investigate former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is unconstitutional. President Benigno Aquino set up the “truth commission” in July to investigate allegations that the outgoing administration engaged in corruption and rights violations, like rigging the 2004 presidential election, misusing government [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Obama administration’s ability to conduct “targeted killings” in the case of radical Muslim cleric and US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki . Judge John Bates found that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, filed by the American [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral arguments Monday in Perry v. Schwarzenegger on Proposition 8 , California’s same-sex marriage ban. The hearing was divided into two one-hour sessions, with the first section focusing on the issue of standing, and the second focusing on Proposition 8’s constitutionality. A federal judge struck [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed on Monday that the prosecutor’s office has opened preliminary examinations to evaluate possible war crimes committed by North Korea . ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo verified that evaluations will determine if some of the incidents by North Korean forces in South Korea constitute war crimes, giving the ICC jurisdiction [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Henderson v. Shinseki on the time limits for seeking judicial review of the denial of a veteran’s claim for disability benefits. The issue is whether the time limit in 38 USC § 7266(a) constitutes a statute of limitations subject to the doctrine of equitable tolling, or [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday granted certiorari in Wal-Mart v. Dukes , a massive gender discrimination class action lawsuit. The issues are (1) whether claims for monetary relief can be certified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2) and, if so, under what circumstances; and (2) whether the class certification ordered under rule 23(b)(2) [...]

A French court on Monday found US-based Continental Airlines and one of its employees guilty of manslaughter for their roles in the Air France Concorde jet crash outside Paris in 2000. The court found that a piece of metal fell off a Continental plane and onto the runway, later causing damage to the Concorde that [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Monday sentenced former Rwandan Armed Forces lieutenant Ildephonse Hategekimana to life imprisonment after convicting him on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The court found Hategekimana guilty of three counts of genocide stemming from his involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide , specifically in the massacre [...]

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday ordered a stay against any amendments to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws pending further proceedings. The court ruled on a petition filed by a citizen, which argued that parliament does not have the right to amend the law. Controversy surrounding Pakistan’s blasphemy law has recently been ignited over the case [...]

A Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued warrants on Saturday for the arrest of two police officers accused of failing to protect assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto . Special Judge of ATC Rana Nisar Ahmed Khan issued non-bailable warrants for the arrests of former police chief of the city of Rawalpindi, Syed Saud Aziz and [...]