The International Judges and Prosecutors Programme of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has failed to meet international standards to ensure fair trials, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International . The report blamed "flaws in the concept, limited resources and the low priority that international justice has been given" for [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a controversial trial court judgment in favor of a plaintiff class of cattle ranchers claiming that defendant meat-packing companies underpaid them based on erroneous price data provided by the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) . The class action plaintiffs filed suit under the [...]

Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) , Wednesday expressed optimism after completing a two-day visit to Washington DC to speak with top US officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, about ICRC concerns regarding the status and treatment of [...]

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty Tuesday called for restrictions on media coverage of terrorism cases, saying that media disclosure should be delayed until judicial proceedings have been completed. In a speech entitled "Terrorism: Policing's New Paradigm" delivered to the Sydney Institute , Keelty said: In the United Kingdom, to provide a contrast with Australia, [...]

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was acquitted of false accounting by a Milan court on Wednesday. The charges were related to Berlusconi's membership in a group trying to buy the SME state food conglomerate in the 1980s, but the court found that the allegations against Berlusconi did not amount to a crime under amendments [...]

Kenyan opposition candidate Raila Odinga has condemned as illegal the latest "shoot to kill" order given to Kenyan police in response to continued violence across the country after last month's disputed presidential election , according to Wednesday media reports. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in the country to help mediate the conflict between supporters of [...]

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Israeli government can continue to cut supplies of fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip , rejecting legal challenges by human rights groups that the blockade deprived Gaza residents of basic humanitarian needs in violation of international law. Israeli officials say that withholding fuel and energy supplies [...]

US Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Wednesday refused to provide the Senate Judiciary Committee an opinion on whether waterboarding constitutes an illegal form of torture. Wednesday's hearing is Mukasey's first appearance before the Judiciary Committee since being sworn in as attorney general in November. On Tuesday, Mukasey sent a letter to the committee confirming that [...]

Open letter from ousted Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, January 30, 2008 . Read the full text of the letter . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The judicial panel of the UK House of Lords unanimously ruled Wednesday that a sexual assault victim could sue a convicted attacker who later won £7 million in the National Lottery even though the six-year limitation for bringing compensation claims had expired. The Lords held that the victim could bring the claim against Iorworth Hoare [...]