A New York state appeals court ruled Thursday that the state's courts have jurisdiction to hear requests to annul civil unions performed in other states. The Third Judicial Department Appellate Division reversed a 2008 Schenectady County Supreme Court decision, citing multiple protections New York affords to same-sex partnerships as sufficient to establish competency despite the [...]

Spain should repeal its 1977 amnesty law that bars investigation and prosecution of crimes committed under the Franco regime rather than "prosecuting a judge seeking accountability for past abuses," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday. HRW called for Spain to comply with the 2008 recommendation from the UN Human Rights Committee to end the amnesty [...]

A judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday rejected a proposed settlement to address the claims of people with illnesses from working on the World Trade Center (WTC) in the months following 9/11 . Judge Alvin Hellerstein cited concerns over the fairness of claim amounts and the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Friday that the Federal Reserve must release information about loans it made to banks during April and May 2008, a key moment in the financial crisis. The information was sought by Bloomberg News under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) . The Second Circuit affirmed [...]

The criminal court of Evry on Thursday convicted 14 members of neo-Nazi group Nomad 88. The defendants faced charges for their participation in a combat group, the illegal detention of weapons and explosives, and their responsibility in a shoot-out in 2008. The two leaders of the group, Camille Farout and Thomas Coumont, were sentenced to [...]

The Turkish government indicted 33 people Friday on charges of attempting to overthrow the government and establish military rule. The accused, some of whom include high-ranking military officials , are alleged to have plotted with a secret group called Ergenekon to assassinate prominent members of Turkey's Christian and Jewish minority groups, blame Islamic terrorists for [...]

Johanna Higgins : "Minister Ahern has stated in the past, regarding the constitutional provision on blasphemy: "As a republican, my personal position is that Church and State should be separate. But I do not have the luxury of ignoring our Constitution." This then begs the question on what philosophy of law does Minister Ahern seek [...]

Iranian authorites jailed a reform movement leader after an appeals court upheld a one-year-sentence for spreading propaganda against the Islamic republic, according to an opposition website Friday. Hossein Marashi was a leading supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi who opposed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the disputed presidential election last June. Marashi was an opposition party spokesman [...]

Philippine lawyers and activists protested Friday in front of the Supreme Court in Manila following Wednesday's ruling , which held that the constitution does not prevent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from replacing retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno prior to the May presidential elections. Among the activists were Philippine lawyers who used black candles to burn photos [...]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced a final rule restricting tobacco sales and promotions directed at youth. The Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco to Protect Children and Adolescents are a set of broad regulations "designed to significantly curb access to and the appeal of cigarettes [...]