The French parliament gave final approval Tuesday to a new version of a controversial Internet piracy law that would suspend users' Internet access after the third violation. The bill was approved by a joint legislative committee of the National Assembly and the Senate by a vote of 258-131. The new version, drafted after portions of [...]

The New York Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Governor David Paterson has the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor, effectively making Richard Ravitch the state's lieutenant governor. In a 4-3 decision, the court rejected the argument that Paterson had improperly relied on section 43 of the Public Officers Law in making the appointment: Where, [...]

Ingrid Burke, Pitt Law '11, attended an "alternative" G-20 event on world hunger and economic decline which was hosted by the People's Summit on Pittsburgh's North Side… This week I was given the opportunity to attend several G-20 alternative/resistance events in Pittsburgh. On Monday night, I opted for a lecture and panel discussion hosted by [...]

China appealed an August World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling Tuesday, arguing that Chinese controls on US imports of books, music, and audiovisual materials do not violate international trade regulations. The dispute originally arose in April 2007 when the US filed a complaint over Chinese restrictions allowing certain state-owned companies to reserve the right to import [...]

Democratic Party fundraiser Hassan Nemazee, accused of orchestrating a $290 million pyramid scheme, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors indicted Nemazee Monday on three counts of bank fraud, each of which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years, and [...]

Taiwan prosecutors filed a new indictment against former president Chen Shui-bian Wednesday, less than two weeks after Chen was sentenced to life in prison on other corruption charges. The new charge accuses Chen of embezzling $330,000 from funds he received to travel overseas while president. Chen denies the charge and is appealing for its dismissal. [...]

Prosecutors for the case against Radovan Karadzic in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced Tuesday that they would not drop any charges against the accused in order to expedite the case. The UN-appointed tribunal is under pressure to wrap up proceedings within a year and asked prosecutors earlier this month to [...]

The accused leader of the military arm of Basque separatist group ETA refused to make a statement at two hearings in the Spanish National Courts on Tuesday. Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina faces a total of 21 charges for attacks and attempted attacks that took place between 2000 and 2008, but the proceedings Tuesday were specifically [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking information related to the treatment of prisoners at the US detention facility at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Departments of Defense, Justice, and State, and the Central [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed suit Monday on behalf of two groups protesting this week's Group of 20 (G-20) Summit in Pittsburgh, alleging that police have violated their Constitutional rights. Seeds of Peace and Three Rivers Climate Convergence (3RCC) claim that police searched and [...]