A Moscow arbitration court Friday overturned most of Russian government's tax claims against the British Council , the British government's cultural relations arm, over the organization’s in-country operations in 2004-2006. The claims were made in late 2006 in the midst of strained relations between Russia and the United Kingdom over the demanded extradition of former [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday vacated a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring Ohio's secretary of state to establish a system that allows county elections boards to confirm newly registered voters' eligibility. The Court granted a request by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to stay the TRO, which was upheld on Tuesday by the [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry has released a statement downplaying the recent order of provisional measures against both Russia and Georgia by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in respect of the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and challenging the court's jurisdiction to proceed to the merits of the case. The ICJ issued [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that France had violated the human rights of a psychotic inmate by failing to prevent his suicide. The court unanimously found that French authorities had breached Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to protect Joselito Renolde's right to life and [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thursday condemned what it called obstruction and interference by the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in the investigation and prosecution of far-right militias in the country. A new report released by the rights group entitled "Breaking the Grip: Obstacles to Justice for Paramilitary Mafias in Colombia," criticized Uribe's actions with [...]

The European Commission has launched a series of legal actions in the European Court of Justice against EU member states for failures to abide by EU laws, according to press statements released by the Commission on Thursday. Filings ranged from infringement proceedings against Poland and Sweden for failing to fully implement rules providing common conditions [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday requested more information on an arrest warrant application for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir , who faces charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for atrocities committed in the country's Darfur region . The pretrial chamber requested that Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo submit “additional supporting materials in [...]

Former Argentine president Carlos Menem failed to appear in a Buenos Aires court Thursday as he and other former officials went on trial on arms trafficking charges. The court excused Menem's absence after a defense lawyer presented a medical certificate indicating that the former president had been suffering from acute anemia. Menem, who led Argentina [...]

The US Defense Department (DOD) has released a revised directive mandating military supervision of intelligence interrogations and questioning conducted by other US government agencies, foreign governments and contractors. The directive, issued October 9 by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England but only made public this week, supersedes a 2005 version that merely required non-DOD entities conducting [...]

The Moscow District Military Court opened closed preliminary hearings Wednesday on the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya . The hearings began without prominent human rights lawyer Karina Moskalenko, who is representing Politkovskaya's family, because the lawyer fell ill Wednesday, giving rise to suspicions that she was poisoned , possibly by mercury later found in her [...]