Software giant Microsoft opened day one of an expected five-day appeals hearing before the European Union's Court of First Instance by claiming that it should be allowed to both protect its intellectual property and enhance its programs. In March 2004, the European Commission concluded a five year investigation , determining that Microsoft had failed to [...]

Human Rights Watch Monday called the use of lethal injections by US authorities "incompetent, negligent, and irresponsible" in a report urging the federal government and the 37 out of 38 death penalty states that use that method of execution to suspend injections pending an assessment of alternatives that do not put prisoners at needless risk [...]

Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals, April 2005-March 2006, Simon Weisenthal Center, released April 23, 2006 . Read the full text of the report and an accompanying press release. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Uzbekistan officials announced Sunday that they will close the local office of the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) , in existence since 1995. The Uzbek Justice Ministry claims that an inquiry has revealed that the office has acted counter to its charter by setting up and supporting local NGOs with [...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) Sunday urged Congress to work on passing an immigration bill this year, despite a current lack of agreement . Specter told CNN's Late Edition that "there has to be an agreement between Democrats and Republicans on a list of amendments. And it would be a thorough [...]

The Jerusalem District Court issued a landmark decision Sunday saying that the Palestinian Authority (PA) meets the legal requirements needed to be considered a state and that therefore Israel has no legal jurisdiction over it. The statement was made in a ruling in a civil case between the Association of the Elon Moreh College and [...]

In 2005 sixteen Nazi war criminals were convicted for atrocities during World War II in Italy, Germany and Poland, a marked increase in convictions over the previous year, according to a new report issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center . The report praised countries that pursued the prosecutions but sharply criticized Austria for failing to [...]

Thousands of Nepalese pro-democracy protesters marched toward Kathmandu Sunday despite an all-day curfew that was imposed on the city and surrounding areas last week. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators and several injuries were reported. Large demonstrations and clashes with police resulting in injuries to several hundred protestors in Kathmandu itself occurred [...]

A US federal prosecutor said Friday that proceeding with a US trial of former Russian nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov on charges of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion for diverting to his own use as much as $9 million in US aid earmarked for security improvements at Russian nuclear plants would be "pointless." Adamov [...]

Bancoult v. McNamara, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, April 21, 2006 . Read the full text of the opinion. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.