A UK High Court dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that sought to force the government to put the ratification of the new EU reform treaty , known as the Treaty of Lisbon , to a public vote. Influential UK Conservative Party donor Stuart Wheeler launched a legal bid to force a referendum on the treaty in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Wednesday rejected an appeal of Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black . Convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice in 2007, Black was sentenced to 78 months in prison and ordered to pay $125,000 and forfeit another $1 million. In February, the court upheld [...]

The Supreme Court of Missouri ruled Tuesday that four physicians associations do not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law that legalizes midwifery . The Missouri legislature passed the provision last year as part of a larger health insurance reform act . The Missouri State Medical Association, the Missouri Association of Osteopathic [...]

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai , presidential candidate of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) , Wednesday called for the United Nations and African leaders to lead a settlement process aimed at ending the ongoing violent political crisis in Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai's comments came at a press conference held during a temporary departure from the Dutch [...]

Kennedy v. Louisiana, US Supreme Court, June 25, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, US Supreme Court, June 25, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A Polish appellate court Tuesday overturned the conviction of one riot police officer found guilty for the shooting deaths of nine coal miners during a 1981 protest, but affirmed the convictions of 14 other officers convicted in relation to the same incident. The coal miners were protesting the imposition of martial law and the jailing [...]

The US Supreme Court handed down four decisions Wednesday, including Exxon v. Baker , in which the Court ruled 5-3 to reduce a punitive damages award to be paid by Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill from $2.5 billion to $500 million. Exxon Mobil and its shipping subsidiary had been ordered to [...]

The Italian Senate , the upper house of the country's parliament, approved public safety legislation Wednesday containing provisions to suspend older trials for nonviolent crimes, including corruption proceedings against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi . Berlusconi told the Senate in a letter last week that the measures would allow the judiciary to consider more important [...]

Russian police have committed serious rights abuses against suspected rebel militants from Ingushetia , including abductions, torture, and killings, according to a Wednesday report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . HRW alleged that Russia has failed to hold government agents accountable for abuses and compared Russian tactics against suspected rebels to those used during both [...]