The UN General Assembly voted Wednesday to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of the unilaterally-proclaimed independence of Kosovo . Seventy-seven member states voted for a resolution that was introduced by Serbia last month, while six voted against and 74 abstained. The states voting against were [...]

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Wednesday affirmed the 2007 conviction of Milan Martic on 16 counts of crimes against humanity and violations of laws and customs of war, including persecutions, murder, torture, deportation, attacks on civilians, and wanton destruction of civilian areas. The Appeals Chamber reversed Martic's [...]

Citigroup Inc., Wachovia Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. announced Wednesday that they had extended an agreement to freeze litigation activity through 8 AM Friday. According to Citigroup, the agreement provides for 1. A standstill of all formal litigation activity effective immediately;2. Ceas any formal discovery activities, and3. Cooperat in good faith to agree among [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in three cases, including Winter, et al. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et al. , 07-1239, in which the Court will review a Ninth Circuit ruling rejecting the Bush administration's attempt to exempt the US Navy from environmental laws so that the Navy could continue using [...]

Attorneys for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a motion in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit late Tuesday seeking to delay the transfer of 17 Uighur detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay , hours after a district judge ordered their release . In the motion, Assistant [...]

The United Nations will not open an investigation into the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto , UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters Tuesday. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari , who is Bhutto's widower, has repeatedly called for the UN to conduct an inquiry similar to the ongoing investigation into the 2005 assassination [...]

Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited Tuesday from Mexico to Guatemala, where he is accused of authorizing transfers of $15.8 million from the budget of the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense during his presidency from 2000 to 2004. Portillo fled to Mexico at the end of his term amid corruption allegations, reportedly fearing he would [...]

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Tuesday arrested more than 300 people suspected of being illegal aliens during an immigration sting at a Columbia Farms poultry processing plant in South Carolina. ICE officials said the raid was part of a 10-month criminal investigation into employment practices at Columbia Farms, which has already led to [...]

Lawyers providing free legal advice to parents of children in China sickened by tainted milk products have been pressured by Chinese officials to stop providing legal services, according to one of the lawyers speaking to the Associated Press Tuesday. The group of at least 100 lawyers, who were told that the scandal has become a [...]

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Tuesday that it has begun an agency review of US financial accounting procedures, including "mark-to-market" rules, pursuant to the recently-passed $700 billion financial rescue bill . The SEC statement coincided with the testimony Tuesday of current and former executives of insurance giant American International Group (AIG) before [...]