The US District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan Wednesday, ruling in favor of the US government's motion to dismiss on state secret grounds. The US Department of Justice had argued that the lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union over Jeppesen's alleged role in the CIA's [...]

Prisons and courts in Iraq have been overwhelmed with an influx of detainees corresponding to the surge in American troops in Iraq over the last year, American advisers visiting Iraq said on Wednesday. Iraq's prison system does not have nearly enough beds to house all of the detainees in custody, nor does the court system [...]

The Iranian Guardian Council , the upper parliamentary chamber composed of twelve members, on Wednesday reinstated more than 280 parliamentary candidates in preparation for next month's parliamentary elections. Last month, Iran's Interior Ministry banned over 2,000 moderates and reformists from running in the March parliamentary election. Among those banned were 190 of 200 candidates from [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the state secrets privilege in preparation for debate on the State Secrets Protection Act , a bill introduced by committee leaders "to enact a safe, fair, and responsible state secrets privilege." The bill, introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and co-sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy [...]

A European Commission official on Wednesday sharply criticized as "unacceptable" American attempts to negotiate with newer EU member states, reportedly offering to allow visa-free travel in exchange for extra air passenger data. Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security Jonathan Faull said American negotiations with individual EU member states were disrespectful to the EU system. While [...]

World Trade Organization (WTO) judges ruled against China Wednesday in a case brought by the US, EU, and Canada over China's taxation scheme for imported car parts. The complaint alleged that China was taxing auto parts imported from those countries at the same rate that it taxed foreign-made finished cars in violation of promises made [...]

The US government plans to approve the first stretch of "virtual fencing" for border control, which will run for 28 miles along the US-Mexico border southwest of Tucson, Arizona, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday during a congressional hearing . The virtual fence, part of the Secure Border Initiative developed to control illegal immigration [...]

Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary General, General Assembly Security Council, December 21, 2007 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Judith Sutherland : "On February 7, 2008, the French parliament enacted a law allowing for the continued detention of offenders who have already completed their prison sentences, purportedly to prevent them re-offending. The law empowers a commission of three judges to impose an additional one-year term in special detention centers if an offender is found [...]

A Turkish court sentenced a lawyer to life in prison Wednesday for the murder of Turkish Judge Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin in May 2006. Alparslan Arslan was accused of opening fire in Turkey's highest administrative court, the Council of State , to protest a February 2006 ruling by the court permitting a school to deny promotion [...]