JURIST Guest Columnist Moeen Cheema, professor of Law & Policy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Lahore, Pakistan, says that in its forthcoming ruling on the legal validity of General Pervez Musharraf's candidacy in the country's recent presidential election, the Pakistan Supreme Court is being urged to declare that democracy has a minimal [...]

Jessica Montell : "Much of Professor Dugard's report simply reiterates what B'Tselem has documented extensively over the past several years: in many spheres the human rights situation for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories has deteriorated. This is patently clear in the Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million people are trapped in a virtual prison, in crushing [...]

The Venezuelan National Assembly on Wednesday debated a set of proposed amendments to the constitution, including reforms that would eliminate presidential term limits and augment the president's emergency powers. In August, the proposed amendments passed a preliminary vote in the Assembly; after the current round of debates, the constitutional reforms will be subject to a [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon issued an order staying the execution of Virginia death row inmate Christopher Scott Emmett , who had been scheduled to be put to death at 9 PM ET. The Court stayed the execution "pending final disposition of the appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the [...]

The High Administrative Court of Ukraine has delayed validating the results of the Sept. 30 parliamentary election pending the outcome of a legal challenge by the Communist Party of Ukraine , a court spokesperson said Wednesday. The Communist Party argues that the vote was invalid due to alleged violations surrounding voting abroad. The announcement came [...]

Former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea on Wednesday asked the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) to release him on bail. Nuon Chea's family earlier this week expressed concern over his health and urged the tribunal to release him into their custody. He is currently being held at a tribunal detention center awaiting [...]

US Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that he opposes presidential authorization of torture, calling the controversial "Bybee Memo" "unnecessary" and "a mistake." The 2002 memo, in which the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel defined torture as physical pain equivalent in "intensity to the pain accompanying serious [...]

A Philippines military tribunal Wednesday dismissed charges against four military officers connected with a failed mutiny in July 2003 in which 300 soldiers from elite special forces took over buildings in Manila in an effort to overthrow the government of President Gloria Arroyo . An army officer and a navy ensign were released after the [...]

Japan's cabinet Wednesday approved new anti-terror legislation which would grant a one-year extension to a Japanese refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. The bill, which restricts its application to allied ships on anti-terrorism patrols, is a compromise between the leading Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DJP) , which wishes [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has increasingly turned its focus to terrorism and immigration offenses since 2000, according to a Washington Post report Wednesday. Statistics from the Executive Office for US Attorneys provided to the Post showed significant decreases in prosecution under the Bush administration of organized crime (down 38 percent), white collar crime [...]