The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) Wednesday reduced the sentences of three Rwandan media executives imprisoned for their roles in the 1994 Rwandan genocide . Ferdinand Nahimana and Hassan Ngeze, sentenced to life in prison in 2003, were granted sentence reductions to 30 years and 35 years, respectively. The third executive, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, had [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport , 06-457, where the Court is considering whether a Maine tobacco transport law is preempted by federal law. In 2003, Maine passed a law requiring special inspection of incoming tobacco packages to prevent purchases from unlicensed retailers who might sell [...]

Farzana Hassan : "While staunch affirmation of human rights remains the mantra of the day, the world continues to witness violations both great and small of this noble human ideal. Recently, a Canadian Muslim woman also felt her human rights violated and took her grievance to the Human Rights Commission. Her complaint– a uniform skirt [...]

The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the appointment of Serge Brammertz as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) . Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon nominated Brammertz earlier this month to replace outgoing chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte , who will step down at the end of [...]

Twelve states filed a lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Wednesday, seeking to invalidate new regulations that relax disclosure requirements for companies storing or emitting 500 or more pounds of toxins. The civil case will be led by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo , and was filed in the US District Court [...]

The last two witnesses for the prosecution in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia case against former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and two other members of the Kosovo Liberation Army failed to testify on Wednesday citing fears that the ICTY would be unable to protect them. One of the scheduled witnesses was [...]

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf stepped down as head of Pakistan's army Wednesday, the day before he is scheduled to take an oath of office as Pakistan's civilian president. Musharraf's role as army chief complicated his recent bid for re-election as president, with several legal challenges filed against him in the Supreme Court of Pakistan . [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Tuesday upheld a district court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by illegal immigrant detainees over their transfer from Massachusetts to Texas holding centers following a March 6 factory raid in which 360 people were arrested. The district court dismissed the lawsuit because it did not [...]

The judicial panel of the UK House of Lords, also known as the Law Lords, Wednesday upheld a controversial ban on hunting with hounds under the Hunting Act 2004 . The Lords said that overturning the ban, which prohibits fox and deer hunting and rabbit coursing with dogs in England and Wales, would subvert the [...]

Ousted Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry Tuesday urged Pakistan's political parties and people to boycott parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8, saying that they were comprised by being held under unconstitutional emergency rule and should not proceed because Pakistan was in unusual circumstances with the rights of its judges, lawyers and people restricted or [...]