US financial regulators and scholars advised the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that "safety and soundness" can be restored to the financial system through increased regulatory oversight, but did not agree on the form that oversight should take. In his opening statement , committee Chair Christopher Dodd (D-CT) expressed doubt about the Obama administration's plan [...]

Jackson Chin : "The changes announced by ICE to operating its controversial 287(g) program and the gradual upgrading of current state-local agreements do not inspire confidence among the civil rights and human rights community. These changes are ultimately superficial and flawed. Unfortunately, they come too late to overcome systemic problems and cannot justify the expansion [...]

The French Senate on Thursday approved a controversial bill that allows more businesses in Lille, Marseilles, and Paris to open on Sundays by a vote of 165-159. Under the bill, employees who work Sundays are to be paid at least twice what they normally would be paid. Absent a collective agreement, employees who work Sundays [...]

Terrorism suspects should be prosecuted in US federal courts instead of military commissions, according to a report released Thursday by Human Rights First . The report, prepared by two former federal prosecutors, claims that the civilian court system is fully equipped to try terrorism cases and argues against the creation of a new security court [...]

The Obama administration sent Congress draft legislation Wednesday that would put the Federal Reserve in charge of regulating the largest financial firms . The proposed legislation would create an eight-member Financial Services Oversight Council to pinpoint risks in financial markets and would establish a National Bank Supervisor and Resolution Authority. It would also create within [...]

The European Commission (EC) on Thursday announced new rules including a number of specific criteria that European banks seeking government assistance must meet. Under the new guidelines, banks are required to show they will become viable without further state support, banks and their owners are required to pay a share of the restructuring costs, and [...]

The FBI arrested and charged 44 people on a variety of conspiracy, extortion, money laundering, and corruption counts Thursday, including several local politicians. The FBI said that the investigation, which began as an investigation of a money laundering ring run by rabbis operating between New Jersey and Israel, only began to focus on public corruption [...]

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday reversed the contempt conviction of Astrit Haraqija and affirmed the conviction of Bajrush Morina for interfering with a witness during the trial of former Kosovo Albanian military leader Ramush Haradinaj . The two prominent Kosovar Albanians were found guilty of [...]

The Government of Sudan v. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, Permanent Court of Arbitration, July 22, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on Sudan.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) should require the Sri Lankan government to address human rights abuses as a condition for a USD $2.5 billion emergency loan, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday. HRW claims that even after the 25-year civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [...]