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 [...]

The UK's Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary Wednesday released a report critical of the manner in which British law enforcement handled protesters at the G20 summit held in London in April. The report also detailed a number of proposals to deal with future protester gatherings, including more proportionate amounts of force, increased training for police forces [...]

Volker Huls : "The announcement by the Transitional Federal Government comes at a crucial time when more than ever children's rights are violated in Somalia as a consequence of the ongoing conflict in the country. This statement of intent gives hope that the government is taking these rights seriously, and is committed to legal and [...]

The Honduran Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that ousted former president Manuel Zelaya cannot legally return to office. The court's decision is a significant blow to Zelaya's prospects for regaining power. Under the so-called Tegucigalpa/San Jose accord , Zelaya would have been able to return to the office of president assuming Supreme Court approval and [...]

A UK heterosexual couple whose civil partnership application was denied by their local town council announced Wednesday that they will challenge the refusal in court. Tom Freeman and Katherine Doyle are the first heterosexual couple to apply for a civil partnership in the UK, where same-sex couples may obtain legal recognition with rights akin to [...]

The UK Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) may not challenge the fairness of bank overdraft fee charges as a matter of law. The Court ruled in favor of seven major banks and one building society appealing a lower court decision, holding: he bank charges levied on personal current [...]

Office of Fair Trading v. Abbey National PLC, et al., Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, November 25, 2090 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on legal issues surrounding UK banks.

Biros, et al. v. Strickland, et al., US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, November 25, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on the death penalty.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday called for the UK to investigate allegations that government officials were complicit in the torture of British citizens in Pakistan from 2004 to 2007. The announcement followed the release of a report alleges that Pakistani security agents tortured prisoners and then transferred them to British government officials for questioning. [...]