The Israeli Cabinet approved an amendment Sunday to the country’s Citizenship law that would require those seeking citizenship to pledge allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state” and promise “to honor the laws of the state.” The amendment was approved by a vote of 22-8. Defense Minister Ehud Barak submitted a proposal that [...]

Representatives from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) appeared before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday to request additional financial resources and institutional support on behalf of the various war crimes tribunals. The ICTY and the ICTR, founded by the UN in early [...]

Bolivian President Evo Morales signed a controversial bill into law Friday that permits the government to punish media outlets for publishing racist content. Under the new law, the government can fine or even revoke the media licenses of newspapers and other media that publish content it deems to be discriminatory, particularly toward the nation’s majority [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Wednesday that governmental interests in the protection of sensitive information supersede a detainee’s request for its disclosure. The decision overturns the district court’s earlier finding in favor of Guantanamo Bay detainee Djamel Ameziane , who claims to have been subjected to torture and [...]

Family members of Turkish activists killed during Israel’s raid of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May have sent a request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a formal investigation into the incident. The families submitted the request on behalf of nine Turkish activists and one American activist who were killed during the raid on the [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 5-4 Friday that Canadians do not have the right to have counsel present during custodial interrogations. The court held that § 10(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms , which states that those under arrest have the right “to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be [...]

Accused Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout on Friday filed an appeal challenging the Bangkok Criminal Court’s decision to dismiss money laundering and fraud charges against him, which removed obstacles to his US extradition. According to Bout’s lawyer Lak Nitiwatanavichan, the arms dealer is now seeking to have these charges reinstated to avoid extradition to the [...]

Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo was announced Friday as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize , “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” Liu has been one of China’s most prominent dissidents. He spent two years in prison following the Tiananmen Square uprising, has long challenged China’s [...]

The European Parliament voted Thursday to support increased government scrutiny of deepwater drilling off Europe’s coasts, but voted not to ban the practice as the Environmental Committee had urged . The resolution , passed in response to April’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico calls on the European Commission (EC) to review [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday upheld Washington’s ban on voting by felons, reversing a prior ruling by a three-judge panel. That ban is enshrined in Article VI of the state constitution , which bars from voting, “All persons convicted of infamous crime unless restored to their civil rights.” The [...]