The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a number of missteps that could have uncovered the fraud committed by Bernard Madoff at an earlier date, according to an inspector general's report released Wednesday. The report indicated that between 1992 and 2008, six complaints were lodged with the SEC concerning Madoff's hedge fund operation. One [...]

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled Wednesday that Canada's Internet Hate Speech law unconstitutionally violates the right to free expression. The law, section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act , proscribed individuals or groups from: communicat telephonically or to cause to be so communicated, repeatedly, in whole or in part by means of the [...]

Lawyers for alleged al Qaeda media director Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul on Tuesday appealed his conviction and life sentence for conspiring with al Qaeda, soliciting murder, and providing material support for terrorism. His Pentagon-appointed defense lawyers argued that his constitutional rights were violated because a supposed al Qaeda recruitment film he released is [...]

Chilean judge Manuel Valderrama disclosed on Wednesday a report on the extent and sources of the secret fortune of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet that amounts to $25,978,602 in accounts held outside of Chile, of which $20,199,753 is suspected to to have been embezzled from official funds. The funds were accumulated over the period from [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its subsidiary have settled a health care fraud suit for a record $2.3 billion. The DOJ brought a felony claim against Pfizer under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act alleging that the drug Bextra was misbranded and promoted for "off-label" uses with [...]

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has announced that they would not release further documents regarding investigations into alleged detainee mistreatment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Filed late Monday in response to a Freedom of Information Act suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) , the declaration maintains that the withheld documents and information describing [...]

The Colombian House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 85-5 to approve a bill to hold a referendum on whether President Alvaro Uribe can run for a third presidential term. There were 76 abstentions. To pass the bill, 83 votes were necessary, and one of the additional votes came from a representative who had vowed to [...]

Snedden v Republic of Croatia, Federal Court of Australia, September 2, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on Dragan Vasiljkovic.

Prashant Bhushan : "The issue of asset disclosure of judges in India arose out of a Right to Information Application filed by one Subhash Agarwal with the Supreme Court seeking to know if judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court were complying with the 1997 "Code of Conduct" adopted at the Chief Justices [...]

Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme, US Securities and Exchange Commission Office of the Inspector General, released September 2, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on Bernard Madoff.