The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Wednesday upheld a $156 million verdict against three US-based Islamic charities accused of aiding Hamas in the murder of David Boim, a 17-year-old American killed in Israel in 1996. Boim's estate sued the groups – the American Muslim Society, the Islamic Association for Palestine and the [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Tara Lee, a former Navy JAG now a partner at DLA Piper (US) LLP, says that having a Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq that abdicates the jurisdictional reach of the United States over contractors (not just security contractors) who are US citizens acting on its behalf is too high a price [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor Ali Khan of Washburn University School of Law says that the recent Mumbai massacre allegedly carried out by a militant organization fighting for liberation of Indian-occupied Kashmir is a sad reminder that the long-simmering dispute is the tinderbox of South Asia… The Mumbai massacre is a heinous crime, allegedly carried out by [...]

A federal judge on Wednesday re-issued a 22-year prison sentence for so-called "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam . Judge John Coughenour of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington first sentenced Ressam to 22 years in 2005 for plotting to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999 . The [...]

In a televised address to the nation Wednesday evening, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised to use "every legal means" at his disposal "to protect our democracy, to protect our economy and to protect Canada" on the eve of a critical meeting scheduled for 9:30 AM ET Thursday morning with Governor General Michaelle Jean . [...]

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo Wednesday formally called upon states to prepare for the court's ruling on the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir . Briefing the UN Security Council on the situation in Darfur, Ocampo urged members to ensure there is no political and financial support for [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved rule amendments Wednesday that provide greater oversight and regulation of credit rating agencies. The rule amendments, which were passed to strengthen the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006 , will effect ratings agencies including Standard and Poor's and Moody's , who provide graded analysis of the [...]

US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers on Tuesday filed a challenge to a federal judge's decision to stay the execution of convicted murder suspect US Army private Ronald Gray. Judge Richard Rogers for the US District Court for the District of Kansas last week ordered the stay of the execution, which had been scheduled for [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday temporarily postponed proceedings against former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba because another member of the pre-trial chamber was granted a leave of absence due to "grave family circumstances." The absence of a member of the chamber left an insufficient number of judges on the [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in two cases. In Philip Morris USA v. Williams , the Court considered for a third time a $79.5 million punitive damages verdict against Philip Morris USA . The Court previously ruled that the punitive damages award based "in part on desire to punish the defendant for [...]