The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday upheld the right of Wal-Mart Inc. , the world's largest retailer, to close its operations in Jonquiere, Quebec, shortly after a union attempted to organize employees in 2005. In a 6-3 decision, the court held that there was no law or precedent that forced an employer to stay [...]

Accused former Khmer Rouge leader Kaing Guek Eav , more commonly known as "Duch," unexpectedly asked to be released at the close of his trial on Friday. His request before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was a complete departure from his previous conduct, as he has cooperated with the trial and [...]

Enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was delayed Friday until June 1, 2010, according to a joint statement from the US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve . The UIGEA, which bans banks and financial institutions from intentionally accepting payments from credit cards, checks, or electronic fund transfers related to unlawful Internet [...]

Italian judges announced Friday that the corruption trial of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will resume on December 4. The trial had been temporarily halted after the court ruled against Berlusconi's claim for immunity while he is in office. The trial is set to re-open amid controversy surrounding a bill that Berlusconi's supporters have introduced [...]

Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Supreme Court of Canada, November 27, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on legal issues surrounding Wal-Mart.

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the execution of Kenneth Biros could proceed as scheduled, overturning a stay of execution issued by the district court last month. The appeals court held Wednesday that the change to the execution procedure in Ohio removed the legal question from the case: he [...]

Phyllis Gerstenfeld : "This week, the FBI reported a 2% increase in hate crimes in 2008, as compared to the previous year. While hate crimes are an important problem in the United States (and abroad), this reported increase itself should be grounds for neither particular concern nor comfort. The reason for this is that the [...]

JURIST Special Guest Columnist Curtis Doebbler of An-Najah National University Faculty of Law in Nablus on the Palestinian West Bank, says that if the UN formally recognizes Palestine as a state it will rightfully validate the views of the Palestinian people and many states in the international community while discouraging the theory that "might makes [...]

The Iranian government was accused Thursday of confiscating the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi . The government seized the medal from Ebadi's safety deposit box in Tehran and froze her bank accounts three weeks ago, claiming that Ebadi owes $400,000 in taxes for the $1.3 million she was awarded [...]

Canadian former Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier testified in front of the House of Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday, denouncing allegations that Afghan detainees transferred from Canadian to Afghani authority were likely tortured by Afghan officials. Hellier dismissed statements made last week by Richard Colvin,who represented the Department [...]