JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says official US calls for "clarifying" the Geneva Conventions are part of a ploy to limit their application and enable prisoners to be treated outside the law without inviting culpability for war crimes and torture… State Department Legal Adviser John Bellinger III [...]

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has formally asked US President George Bush to hand over Ali Hassan al-Majid , better known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali," and two other former members of Saddam Hussein's former regime, Iraqi officials said Thursday. In a letter to President Bush Tuesday, Maliki demanded that the US hand [...]

Ruling on the White House's Claims of Executive Privilege and Immunity Made in Response to Senate Judiciary Committee Subpoenas, US Senate Judiciary Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy, November 29, 2007 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

BP Exploration Alaska (BPXA), a subsidiary of British Petroleum (BP) , pleaded guilty Thursday to violating the Clean Water Act in a case stemming from the March 2006 oil spill at the company's Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska. According to a plea agreement reached last month, BPXA will pay $20 million in fines and [...]

Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Caracas, Venezuela on Thursday to voice their opposition to 69 constitutional amendments proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez . The proposed reforms, which will be put to a national referendum on Sunday, would extend the presidential term from six to seven years, eliminate the limit on the number [...]

Thailand's National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC) has approved the creation of three subcommittees to investigate former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and two of his former senior administration officials, according to an NCCC spokesperson Thursday. The first subcommittee will probe Thaksin's involvement in the bidding for security services at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport while serving on the [...]

Serbia's Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor Thursday indicted 14 former soldiers and paramilitaries on war crimes charges in connection with the October 1991 Lovas Massacre in Croatia, a spokesperson told Reuters. Half of those charged are in custody while the rest remain free but must report to authorities at regular intervals. In May, the [...]

UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) head Serge Brammertz told the UN Security Council Wednesday that unspecified "persons of interest" have been identified and other progress has been made in the international investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri . In June, the Security Council expanded the Hariri probe to [...]

About a dozen officers on trial in the Philippines in connection with a failed 2003 mutiny Thursday walked out of court, took control of a Manila hotel, and demanded the resignation of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo . Philippine military and police forces subsequently regained control of the hotel after a lengthy confrontation. The military officers [...]

Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov was released from jail Thursday after serving five days in custody for organizing an unsanctioned protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin and resisting arrest. The former chess champion and head of the liberal United Civil Front had challenged his arrest as illegal, but his appeal was denied earlier this week. [...]