The European Union Thursday certified that Kosovo's constitution is in line with its international obligations, guaranteeing the individual and community rights of all its citizens. The constitution is expected to come into effect on June 15, close to the date that EULEX Kosovo , a 1,800-strong European Union police and justice mission will assume authority [...]

The European Union's Court of First Instance Thursday ruled that the Council of the European Union improperly listed the militant Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) on its list of terrorist organizations in 2002 because it failed to state its justifications for doing so. An EU official said that a new terror blacklist has since been created [...]

Milberg Weiss partner and co-founder Melvyn Weiss pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of racketeering conspiracy stemming from a long-running US Attorney investigation into an alleged kickback scheme. Weiss was indicted last year for conspiracy, racketeering, obstruction of justice and making false statements and initially pleaded not guilty in October 2007. Under the agreement reached [...]

All 50 states have been granted extensions to comply with new requirements under the REAL ID Act , the US Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday. The extension pushes back the deadline for states to begin implementing new, more secure drivers' licenses to Dec. 31, 2009; in the meantime, citizens can continue using their current [...]

Chinese human rights activist Hu Jia was sentenced Thursday to 3.5 years in prison on charges of inciting subversion of state power . Hu's trial began last month; he was formally charged in February after he made public letters and recordings from Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng alleging that Gao was tortured into confessing to subversion [...]

Liberia struggles with corruption in its criminal justice system, poor detention conditions and sexual and gender-based violence, including rape and forced marriage, according to a UN Mission in Liberia combined quarterly report covering May-October 2007 that was released Wednesday. The report recommended that Liberia, a country still recovering from its civil war, institute legal prohibitions [...]

The Egyptian state prosecutor ordered an investigation Wednesday into accusations that 147 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood caused riots during unauthorized protests on Tuesday against the government for not allowing them to participate in municipal elections set for April 8. Egyptian security forces Tuesday arrested five members of the Brotherhood as they were posting [...]

The US Justice Department advised the Bush administration in October 2001 that the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution did not apply to "domestic military operations" conducted in pursuit of terrorism suspects after the Sept. 11 attacks . The October 23, 2001 memo, authored by former [...]

Five prominent members of the Hindu Rights Action Force who are being detained in Malaysia "have been deprived of their personal liberty in defiance of the law," a defense lawyer argued at a Wednesday Federal Court hearing. The five activists are accused of being involved in orchestrating a November 2007 street demonstration in Kuala Lumpur [...]

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday voted 38-12 to approve the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act , a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory power over tobacco products. Supporters say the bill will help to better inform the public of the risks of smoking and make [...]