The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Tuesday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had overstepped its interpretive authority by classifying certain pesticides as exempt from a permitting process allowing for their discharge into water. Eleven environmental and industry interest groups brought suit against the EPA, appealing the final rule that the [...]

The Chinese government on Wednesday warned that pressing war crimes charges against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in the International Criminal Court (ICC) would have "disastrous" consequences on the implementation of a peace process in Darfur . Citing fears that an indictment would limit Bashir's legitimacy in negotiations and that Sudan may evict UN peacekeepers [...]

Taiwan's High Court on Thursday rejected the appeal of former president Chen Shui-bian protesting the court's previous decision to detain him while he awaits trial on corruption charges . Chen's detention was ordered last month after the High Court overruled a decision by a Taiwanese district court to release Chen on his own recognizance. The [...]

Marc D. Stern : "Amnesty International reads the law of war as if it was a law banning war. In evaluating Amnesty's criticisms of Israel's actions in Gaza, one needs to take into account the manifold ways it distorts a body of law which actually permits, while regulating, war. Amnesty perversely reads that body of [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday rejected a First Amendment challenge to a City of Los Angeles ban on billboards. Metro Lights, an outdoor advertising company, argued that the ban on billboard advertising was unconstitutional because the city allowed advertising on bus shelters and other public facilities, a benefit conferred [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday granted the government's motion to hold in abeyance the habeas corpus petitions of two Guantanamo Bay detainees, but only if and when the charges against the pair are referred to military commissions. The detainees, Fouad Mahmoud Al Rabiah and Fayiz Mohammed [...]

Assistant US Attorney Marc Litt on Tuesday urged that Bernard Madoff be jailed, in a brief filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York . Litt alleges that Madoff mailed valuable jewelry to family members in violation of a court order prohibiting him from disposing of or concealing any assets. [...]

The Ethiopian Parliament on Tuesday adopted controversial legislation designed to regulate foreign charities. Under the Proclamation for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies, which passed 327 to 79 , foreign aid organizations and local groups that receive more than 10 percent of their funding from foreign entities will be prohibited from involvement in [...]

Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) on Tuesday announced the release of a revealing and in depth report detailing how lawyers and justice officials within Zimbabwe have allowed the illegal detention and abuse of several political activists. The report points to specific incidents where lawyers for the activists were denied access to their clients and [...]

United States of America v. Jeffrey K. Skilling, US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, January 6, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.