US federal prosecutions and convictions of law enforcement officers for alleged brutality have significantly increased in recent years, USA Today reported Tuesday, citing unspecified US Department of Justice statistics. The figures indicated that prosecutions for the use of excessive force or other violations of victims' civil rights had risen 25 percent from 224 to 281 [...]

A Lebanese court handed down sentences Tuesday for two defendants convicted of attempted mass murder for their role in a 2006 plot to blow up trains in Germany . Youssef al-Haj Deeb, currently in custody in Germany, was sentenced in absentia to life in prison and Jihad Hamad was sentenced to 12 years in prison. [...]

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Monday that a Senate vote on whether to extend immunity to telecommunications companies from lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program would be delayed until after the Senate returns from the holiday recess. Reid said that there would not be enough time to [...]

Laval un Partneri Ltd. v. Svenska Byggnadsarbetareförbundet, Svenska Byggnadsarbetareförbundets avd. 1, Byggettan, and Svenska Elektrikerförbundet, European Court of Justice, December 18, 2007 . Read the full text of the judgment. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Hungary became the first EU member to ratify the new Treaty of Lisbon when the Hungarian National Assembly voted 325-5 Monday in favor of the treaty. Fourteen assembly members abstained from the vote. Leaders from the 27 European Union member countries signed the EU reform treaty last week, but all member countries must ratify the [...]

Anonymous : "Mr. Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif was the seniormost Judge of the Lahore High Court on the morning of November 3, i.e. No. 2 after the Chief Justice. Because of the extra-constitutional steps of General (Retired) Musharraf, he is one of those Judges who were unceremoniously and unlawfully removed from their positions under the [...]

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethnics in Washington v. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al., US District Court for the District of Columbia, December 17, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Read the full text of the order . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Jasna Sarcevic Jankovic : "The location, arresting and transfer of Ratko Mladic and the other three indictees to The Hague is not only our international obligation, but also our moral duty. The fact is that Serbia has so far fulfilled most of its obligations towards the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, including the [...]

Nigeria has secretly carried out at least seven state executions in recent years despite official denials, Amnesty International claimed Monday in a new report. The executed men, who were all hanged, were generally tried without representation and not given any opportunity to appeal their convictions. Amnesty accused Nigeria of "misleading the world," and called on [...]

The alleged head of Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) went to trial in Indonesia Monday. Zarkasih is charged with training and equipping JI members as well as conspiracy to commit terrorism. He could face the death penalty if convicted. BBC News has more. JI was responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings , [...]