California Attorney General Jerry Brown on Monday urged the state Supreme Court to review the petitions raised in reference to the recent passage of Proposition 8 , the voter initiative that amended the state constitution to make same-sex marriage illegal in California. The filing comes after weeks of protests against the initiative. In a preliminary [...]

Iraqi human rights activists are concerned about the treatment of detainees due to be transferred from US military custody to Iraqi authorities under the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) , according to an IRIN report Monday. The pact, approved the Iraqi cabinet on Sunday and awaiting approval from the country's parliament, calls for roughly [...]

Over 100 retired admirals and generals of the United States military called Monday for a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy regarding homosexuals in the armed forces. The controversial policy requires the dismissal of openly gay or lesbian service members. The statement was released by Admiral Charles Larson and was distributed by The [...]

UN envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura praised the country's new Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) on Monday, calling it a "milestone" for human rights in the region. The IHCHR was instituted on Sunday by the Iraqi Council of Representatives and is mandated by the Iraqi Constitution . The new body will focus [...]

The UK's former senior law lord Thomas Bingham on Monday criticized official UK legal justifications given for the 2003 US and UK invasion of Iraq, saying it was "a serious violation of international law and of the rule of law." Bingham focused on legal advice that then-Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith gave to the British [...]

Officials from the administration of US president-elect Barack Obama will likely not prosecute Americans who approved or actually carried out the torture or other harsh interrogation of terrorism suspects, according to an AP report published Monday. The adoption of such a policy would be in line with plans expressed earlier in the presidential campaigns. During [...]

US Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann announced Monday that his retirement from the post of chief judge of US military commissions will be effective immediately. Kohlmann initially announced his retirement in September, but said then that it would not be effective until April 2009. According to an AFP report , Kohlmann decided to step down from [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor Haider Ala Hamoudi of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that the American concession in the supposedly final version of the Status of Forces Agreement governing US troops in Iraq that would put US soldiers under Iraqi criminal process in limited instances has been made necessary by Iraqi skepticism over [...]

An Irish Times poll published Monday suggests that 52.5 percent of Irish voters would approve the Treaty of Lisbon if it were modified so that Ireland kept a European Union (EU) Commissioner and clarified Irish concerns over neutrality, abortion, and taxation. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percent, and broadly reaffirms the [...]

US president-elect Barack Obama has reportedly selected Gregory Craig to serve as White House counsel. Craig, who was an adviser to Obama during the presidential campaign, led former President Bill Clinton's defense during his 1998 impeachment proceedings . In 2000, Craig represented the father of Elian Gonzalez in his successful effort to gain custody of [...]