UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday called for new laws to narrow the gap between the public's desire for justice and outcomes that are perceived to unfairly favor defendants, in a a major criminal justice policy speech delivered in Bristol. Citing public concern over recent controversial decisions involving sentences for sex offenders, Blair said: [...]

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Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) formally began its work Thursday to investigate and document human rights abuses occurring in Liberia from 1979 to 2003. The TRC was inaugurated in February by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , who said that the commission is intended to heal the war-torn country and uncover the truth about [...]

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UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel stressed the importance of not sacrificing justice by "granting amnesty in ending conflicts" at a UN Security Council meeting Thursday on strengthening international law . Michel said that ending impunity for war criminals is one of the most important developments in international law over the last 15 years [...]

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The Japanese Supreme Court Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine , according to a court spokesperson who did not provide details on the ruling. The suit was brought by 338 plaintiff survivors of South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese soldiers killed during wars involving Japan, [...]

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Two Russian officials switched roles Thursday, as President Vladimir Putin appointed former Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov to the justice minister post several hours after former Justice Minister Yury Chaika was approved as the new prosecutor general in a 91-1 vote by the Federation Council , the upper house of parliament. Ustinov resigned from the justice [...]

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