The trial of Saddam-era Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan was flawed and he should not be executed, a UN Human Rights expert said Wednesday. Phillip Alston , appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in 2004, said judicial misconduct, official statements declaring Ramadan guilty before his sentence, and the admission [...]

A senior Chinese official said Tuesday that the government plans to establish a "National Corruption Prevention Bureau" to ensure China's compliance with the UN Convention Against Corruption , which China signed in 2005. The proposed bureau is another step forward in China's fight against widespread corruption, following a year in which over 97,000 Chinese officials [...]

The Belgian government was complicit in Nazi persecution of the Jewish population during the Holocaust and the country's courts failed to hold Belgian authorities accountable for persecuting and deporting Jews after World War II, according to a government-supported report that was presented to the Belgian parliament on Tuesday. According to the report , titled "Submissive [...]

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy testified before the appropriations subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday on the topic of judicial pay, saying that low pay relative to private-sector jobs threatens the independence and integrity of the federal judiciary. While members of the Supreme Court rarely testify before appropriations committees, Kennedy said the [...]

A British judge announced Wednesday that he has dropped charges against five British soldiers accused of abusing Iraqi detainees in Basra, while continuing charges against two British co-defendants in their ongoing court-martial. The ruling was issued Tuesday, but was kept secret until Justice Stuart McKinnon read it to the jury of military officers on Wednesday [...]

The European Parliament voted 382-256 Wednesday to approve a report condemning member states for cooperating with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in operating illegal secret prisons and extraordinary rendition flights in Europe. Seventy-four MEPs abstained from the vote. The report condemns the European countries who allowed the CIA to forcibly remove terror suspects from [...]

Neely Burks : "On Monday, Feb. 12, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell vetoed the "English first" bill, saying "this is not who we are." The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce applauds Mayor Purcell's decision to reaffirm Nashville as a welcoming and inclusive city that celebrates diversity. The Nashville Chamber, which remains for legal immigration and comprehensive [...]

US Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) on Tuesday introduced in the Senate the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 , legislation that would restore habeas corpus rights to all US-held detainees, ban the use of evidence gained by torture or coercion, and redefine "enemy combatant" in a more narrow light. If the bill is passed, it [...]

US military branches continue to accept a greater number of recruits with criminal records, granting recruiting waivers , according to data compiled by the US Defense Department. The Army accepted over twice as many recruits with criminal records in 2006 than it did in 2003, granting 901 felony waivers in 2006 as compared to the [...]

Argentina has made a formal request that Spain extradite former Argentine President Isabel Peron , officials from the Argentinean Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The request was made in connection to Federal Judge Raul Acosta's investigation into Peron's alleged involvement in the disappearance of political opponent Hector Aldo Fagetti Gallego in 1976. Peron was arrested last [...]