The annual UN Treaty Event , celebrated yearly to promote universal participation in international treaties and agreements, concluded Wednesday after a number of states signed and ratified various treaties and conventions. This year's event, entitled "Treaty Event 2008: Towards Universal Participation And Implementation – Dignity And Justice For All Of Us," celebrates the sixtieth anniversary [...]

Rob Boston : "Several of the pastors who took part in the so-called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" have been arguing that they have a free speech and freedom of religion right to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit. They do – but only if they give up their tax exemption first. Tax exemption is a [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Wednesday ruled that the United States Postal Service (USPS) was entitled to immunity in a lawsuit alleging that a postal employee had interfered with the delivery of a political opponent's campaign fliers ahead of a municipal election. The court held that such conduct was covered [...]

Millions of Americans have been effectively disenfranchised because of criminal convictions, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Brennan Center for Justice . The report found that state and county election officials receive little or no training regarding the applicable laws, resulting in widespread misunderstanding. It continued: [...]

The Russian Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the 1918 killing of Tsar Nicholas II an act of political "repression." The ruling, long sought by the Tsar's descendants, is seen an exoneration of the country's last monarch, who had been villainized as "Bloody Nicholas" since the country's Bolshevik revolution which led to his ouster and death. [...]

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) released a report Wednesday expressing concern over a proposed UK anti-terror bill which would allow authorities to detain terror suspects without charge for up to 42 days . The group said that to decrease the risk of mistreatment, the [...]

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Merck & Co. in support of state agencies that were harmed by Merck's allegedly deceptive marketing campaign promoting its prescription painkiller Vioxx . The lawsuit filed in the US District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana claims that Merck's marketing campaign was used to [...]

Under a new judicial dress code that took effect Wednesday, civil and family judges in the Judiciary of England and Wales will no longer wear wigs during court proceedings. The new dress code also features redesigned robes , intended to give a more modern and grounded appearance to members of the judiciary. The dress reforms [...]

Serbian President Boris Tadic refused to rule out partitioning parts of Kosovo , should other options regarding the resolution of a dispute between Serbia and the newly independent state fail. In an interview with Serbian television channel RTS , Tadic said that the option is "not off the table." Alexander Ivanko, the Director of Public [...]

The trial of former Yugoslav army chief of staff and general Momcilo Perisic , was delayed indefinitely Wednesday as there was a procedural glitch in the naming of judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia . Perisic was indicted before by ICTY in 2005 on charges including murder, persecution on grounds of [...]