The High Court of Uganda will not try soldiers from the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) if they are accused of human rights abuses, according to Wednesday statements by Justice Dan Akiiki-Kiiza , the head of the Court's War Crimes Division. The head justice insisted that the mandate of the court is restricted to the [...]

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday signed military defense agreements with Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia despite heavy international criticism. Medvedev said that Russia now recognized the regions as independent countries since its conflict with Georgia , and that his country planned to permanently station troops in the regions. In an attempt to [...]

The Iraqi Parliament Wednesday failed to agree on a controversial provincial election bill in light of new disagreements over procedure. Kurdish legislators had strongly opposed the bill's proposal to establish a provincial council in Kirkuk made up of equal numbers of Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmeni representatives. A UN proposal would have compromised by allowing elections in the [...]

US Army Specialist Belmor Ramos pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy for his involvement in the killings of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners west of Baghdad in 2007. In his confession, Ramos said he willingly took part in the killings as retribution for earlier deaths of US soldiers. As part of a plea agreement, Ramos was sentenced [...]

The Supreme Court of Thailand delayed a ruling Wednesday regarding corruption charges against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra . The couple are being tried in absentia over a controversial purchase of government land at a below-market price which occurred while Thaksin was in office. The Supreme Court also issued new [...]

Pakistani lawyers Thursday boycotted legal proceedings in the country and continued to hold protests calling for the restoration of all judges ousted by former President Pervez Musharraf last November. According to local reports, some proceedings did go ahead at the reconstituted Pakistani Supreme Court , but many other courts, including the Lahore High Court were [...]

Three US Army soldiers were charged with murder Wednesday for their alleged roles in the killings of four Iraqis in April 2007 . Sgt 1st Class Joseph Mayo, Sgt John Hatley, and Sgt Michael Leahy Jr, who were formerly part of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry , were all charged with premeditated murder, conspiracy to [...]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday that his administration had reached a settlement in a long-standing lawsuit over homeless families' right to use shelters throughout the city. The main lawsuit, McCain v. Koch , was initially filed in 1983 by the Legal Aid Society . As that lawsuit progressed through the court system [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday upheld as constitutional an Arizona law which revokes the business licenses of employers who hire illegal immigrants. Pro-immigration, business, and civil rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the Legal Arizona Workers Act , arguing that it violated employers’ due [...]

Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc.; Somos America, v. Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform Inc., et al., US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, September 17, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.