Hamas leaders on Monday condemned the Palestinian Authority (PA) for supporting Friday's decision by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to delay a vote on resolution adopting the recommendations of the UN Fact Finding Commission on the Gaza Conflict . The postponed resolution would have also condemned Israel for its refusal to assist in the [...]

Louay Bahry : "The new Supreme Constitutional Court in Qatar, established by Law No. 12 of 2008 was supposed to start functioning on October 1, 2008, but was postponed for "administrative" reasons. On September 27, 2009 it finally came into being when its head, Mr. Mubarak al-Asiri, Head of the Judiciary Supreme Council, was nominated [...]

Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on Sunday called for constitutional reform in Kenya before the next electoral cycle begins in 18 months. In addition to pressing for constitutional reform, Annan also said there was need for police and judicial reform. Annan's statements came during a trip to Kenya to monitor the progress of the peace [...]

Julian Sanchez : "The administration's new policy on invocation of the state secrets privilege does set a higher transparency standard, but that's largely because their predecessors had to enlist Otto Lidenbrock to get it to the low point it hit in the last administration. But to the extent the checks here remain internal to the [...]

A German court ruled Friday that alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk can stand trial on accessory to murder charges that took place during World War II. The Munich Regional Court said that it would hear the case and ordered that Demjanjuk remain in custody despite pleas by his friends and family that he is [...]

A three-judge panel of the UK High Court strongly criticized the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Friday for its failure to properly setup an independent inquiry into claims that war crimes had been committed by British soldiers following a May 2004 gun battle, known as the "Battle of Danny Boy" , in Southern Iraq. The panel, [...]

Ireland approved the European Union (EU) reform treaty, known as the Lisbon Treaty , in a second referendum vote held Friday, the European Commission announced Saturday. The vote, which amends Ireland's constitution, was approved by approximately 67 percent of voters, according to an official poll . European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso applauded the treaty's [...]

A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday ordered the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to release some files from its interview with former vice president Dick Cheney over his role in leaking the name of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Valerie Plame . The lawsuit, filed by Citizens [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Friday that a lawsuit against Canadian oil exploration company Talisman Energy for alleged human rights violations in Sudan should be dismissed. The court affirmed the lower court's finding that the plaintiffs, including the Presbyterian Church of Sudan, failed to establish that Talisman acted with the [...]

The Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, October 2, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on human rights issues in Sudan.