UN Special Rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said Monday that torture was widespread and routine throughout Sri Lanka. Nowak visited Sri Lanka in early October and reported to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly that torture has become pervasive in the country's counter-terrorism procedures. While Sri Lanka had attempted to reduce torture with [...]

The US Department of State has sheltered bodyguards working for private security firm Blackwater USA from prosecution related to a September shooting incident in Baghdad, according to AP on Monday. The guards, who allegedly fired on civilians, killing 17 and prompting the Iraqi government to withdraw Blackwater's operating license , have received so-called "Garrity protections" [...]

Former Milberg Weiss partner William Lerach pleaded guilty to conspiracy Monday for his part in the firm's illegal kickback scheme. Lerach reached an agreement with prosecutors last month to plead guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice and will forfeit $7.75 million to the government, pay a $250,000 fine, and serve one to two years in [...]

An Italian appeals court on Monday affirmed the conviction of Egyptian Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed for belonging to an international terrorist network, but reduced his sentence from ten years to eight. Ahmed was convicted on charges separate from those brought against him for his role in the 2004 Madrid train bombings . Prosecutors had alleged [...]

The government of Peru plans to file a complaint against Chile with the International Court of Justice seeking resolution of the countries' maritime boundary dispute in November or December, el Comercio reported Monday. While Peruvian Minister of External Relations Jose Antonia Garcia Belaunde informed his Chilean counterpart of the government's decision during the recent session [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prison , 06-9130, to determine whether a Federal Tort Claims Act exception barring claims for detained property against "law enforcement officers" includes federal prison officials who seized a Muslim prisoner's Korans and prayer rug, or whether it only applies to officials [...]

A group of senior lawyers from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon urging the promotion of the current ICTY deputy prosecutor, American David Tolbert , to ICTY chief prosecutor when Carla Del Ponte steps down from the position at the end of [...]

Giovanni Di Stefano disputes recent comments by Iraqi prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon suggesting that the Iraqi High Tribunal has overriding authority to execute al-Majid and others for war crimes regardless of any objection from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in a dispute over the punitive damages to be paid by Exxon Mobil for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill . Exxon Mobil and its shipping subsidiary have been ordered to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages for the spill of 11 million gallons of crude oil in [...]

US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday that unless US Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey clarifies that he believes waterboarding is torture, Graham will consider opposing Mukasey's nomination. Speaking on CBS News' Face The Nation , Graham said that if Mukasey does not express opposition to the use of waterboarding, it will raise serious doubts [...]