The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) released a decision last week that allows the Rwandan government to pursue charges against US lawyer and JURIST Forum contributor Peter Erlinder . In a reversal of a previous statement , the ICTR decided that Erlinger was charged for alleged actions committed outside the [...]

The US Department of Justice on Tuesday filed two notices of appeal in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts , defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) . The notices of appeal do not specify the DOJ’s arguments in support of the law, which will eventually be heard by the US [...]

The French National Assembly on Tuesday voted 294-239 to adopt a controversial immigration bill that would would strip criminals born in other countries of their French nationality if they have been convicted of violent crimes against police officers. The French Senate will consider the bill , which would also deport EU citizens for crimes such [...]

Judge Virginia Phillips of the US District Court of the Central District of California on Tuesday ordered the US military to end enforcement of its controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy . The order comes a little more than a month after the court declared the policy unconstitutional after considering arguments by the Log [...]

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday the end of a six-month moratorium on certain types of deepwater oil drilling some seven weeks ahead of schedule. In a letter issuing the order to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) director Michael Bromwich , Salazar said that new drilling regulations enacted earlier this [...]

The UN Secretary-General’s special adviser on maritime piracy Jack Lang called Tuesday for other nations to provide assistance to Kenya in conducting piracy trials. Kenya has expressed fears that it will become a dumping-ground for pirates and allowed an agreement for conducting piracy trials in Kenya to lapse last month. The UN is negotiating this [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth on compensation for injuries caused by childhood vaccines. The question is whether § 22(b)(1) of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, which expressly preempts certain design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers “if the injury or death resulted from side effects that [...]

Uganda’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday unanimously dismissed treason charges against opposition leader Kizza Besigye and 10 co-defendants, ruling that there was insufficient evidence and that the state had violated the defendants’ rights. Besigye had been charged with plotting to forcefully overthrow the Ugandan government between 2001 and 2004 but had always maintained his innocence, calling [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in six cases. In the consolidated cases of Camreta v. Greene and Alford v. Greene , the court will decide how to apply the Fourth Amendment to a child suspected of being sexually abused. The petitioners were co-defendants in a case involving a child who was temporary [...]

The Irish High Court ruled Monday that the country does not recognize any laws that would allow Internet services providers to suspend service to customers suspected of Internet piracy. The judgment was issued after the Irish recording industry attempted to have an injunction brought against broadband provider UPC , requiring the company to suspend service [...]