Elizabeth Samson : "From the time that US President Barack Obama came into office there has been talk of the United States joining the International Criminal Court, but those efforts may be laid to rest for the time being. It appears as though this administration has not come much further in being convinced that participation [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Friday that Russia breached the European Convention on Human Rights in two cases concerning disappearances in Chechnya . In the cases of Razman Guluyeva and Islam Dubayev , the ECHR held that Russia violated the right to life, the right to liberty and security, the right to [...]

Israel has begun to reroute a segment of its West Bank security barrier , said Ministry of Defense spokesperson Shlomo Dror on Thursday. The modifications, which may not be completed until the end of the year, will shift the controversial barrier's path several hundred yards west of its current location near Bilin, and will return [...]

An Iraqi appeals panel ruled Thursday that 28 previously banned candidates can stand in the March 7 elections . The ruling came after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that the dispute over banned candidates would be resolved within the week. The Responsibility and Justice Committee had initially ruled that some banned 500 candidates could [...]

UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan Muhamed Chande Othman said Thursday that while Sudan has made progress in protecting human rights, grave problems still exist. Othman praised the "institutional and legislative reform" leading to the passage of several laws protecting children and the press and creating election and human rights [...]

The Paris District Court on Thursday ordered Internet auction house eBay to pay LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) €200,000 ($275,000) in damages for paying search engines to direct customers to counterfeit LVMH products. The court found that eBay registered names similar to Louis Vuitton with search engines knowing that consumers looking for counterfeit products [...]

US Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair on Wednesday condemned a UK Court of Appeal ruling that the British government must publish intelligence relating to the alleged torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed . UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband had expressed concern that releasing the information could harm US-UK cooperation, saying that it [...]

The Haitian judge overseeing the prosecution of 10 US citizens charged with kidnapping in the wake of the January 12 earthquake said he will recommend their provisional release pending the investigation. Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said he will send the recommendation to the prosecutor , who has the ability to object, but ultimately the judge has [...]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Thursday criticized Sri Lanka's plans to court-martial defeated opposition presidential candidate and former general Sarath Fonseka . The Sri Lankan Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) announced Monday that Fonseka was arrested "in connection with certain fraudulent acts and other military offences." According to AHRC: The case is [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Thursday convicted former Rwandan army officer Tharcisse Muvunyi of direct and public incitement to genocide and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Muvunyi was the highest placed military officer in charge of security operations in the prefectures of Butare and Gikongoro and former commander of a Rwandan [...]