The Constitutional Court of Slovakia ruled Wednesday that the Special Court, established to try corruption and organized crime cases, violates the Slovak Constitution . The Constitutional Court found that the ability of the National Security Authority (NBU) to revoke the security clearances of Special Court judges without clear rules rendered the Special Court insufficiently independent [...]

John W. Whitehead : "President Obama has been accused of falling short of his campaign promises for a more transparent government. It certainly appears that the Obama administration is borrowing from George W. Bush's playbook, at least when it comes to keeping information on particularly controversial government programs from being disclosed. For example, Obama has [...]

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday directed heads of executive departments and agencies that a sufficient legal basis is required to preempt state laws and that any legitimate state prerogatives should be fully considered, marking a departure from Bush administration policy. The memo directs against the inclusion of preemption provisions in federal regulations except where [...]

A Canadian man pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda before a federal court. Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, a Canadian citizen of Somali descent, was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda, one count of providing material support to al Qaeda, and [...]

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the US House Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US could pose a threat to national security, even if they remain in maximum security facilities. He said that they could either participate in terrorist activities directly or finance or organize others to do so, [...]

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 361-64 to pass the Senate version of the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights . Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the bill historic, and a stern rebuke to credit card companies that, "have unfairly profited at the expense of responsible, hardworking Americans who pay [...]

UN rights investigator Richard Goldman said Wednesday that his fact-finding mission into possible human rights violations during the recent Gaza Strip conflict will continue despite objections by Israel. Goldman said that he plans to travel to the region in June and will hold public hearings to collect testimony about the alleged abuses. He also said [...]

Authorities in Myanmar on Wednesday granted 39 foreign diplomats and journalists limited access to the trial of pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi . Suu Kyi met briefly with representatives of Thailand, the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); Russia, the current president of the UN Security Council ; [...]

Noah Greenwald : "On May 8, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that he will not rescind a "special rule" created by the Bush administration that sharply limits protections for the polar bear by exempting all activities that occur outside of the polar bear's range from regulation under section 9 of the Endangered [...]

Spain's Congress of Deputies , the lower house of the Spanish parliament, passed a non-binding resolution Tuesday aimed at limiting the exercise of universal jurisdiction over foreign nations in Spanish courts to those cases in which there is no current domestic investigation underway and where there exists a clear connection to Spain. The requisite connection [...]