A fistfight broke out between lawmakers in the Bolivian legislature Wednesday as opposition leaders tried to prevent lawmakers loyal to Bolivian President Evo Morales from bringing charges against four Constitutional Tribunal justices for overstepping their authority. The dispute, the latest in a series of disagreements between Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) and opposition lawmakers, stems [...]

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri and Mark A. Berman v. Commander S. L. Wright, USN Commander, Consolidated Naval Brig., US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, August 22, 2007 . Read the full text of the order . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled Thursday that former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif can return to the country, effectively ending the 10-year exile imposed after Sharif was deposed in a military coup led by current Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf . In its order , the court wrote: It is declared that Mian Muhammad [...]

Nepal's draft Truth and Reconciliation Commission Bill of 2007 does not meet international legal standards as currently drafted, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission for Jurists said Wednesday. The groups called the bill "seriously flawed" and said that it does not meet standards set forth in the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the [...]

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram issued a directive Wednesday to state law enforcement agencies ordering them to alert US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials when an undocumented immigrant is arrested in the state. Milgram wrote that: After an individual has been arrested for a serious violation of State criminal law, the individual's immigration [...]

A coalition of human rights groups in Zimbabwe said Wednesday that if human rights abuses continue to occur in Zimbabwe at the high pace they have in the first half of the year, 2007 will be the worst year on record since the country entered an economic decline seven years ago. The Zimbabwe Human Rights [...]

Egyptian officials on Wednesday arrested two lawmakers from the Muslim Brotherhood in order to question them in a case involving "other Brotherhood members," according to a police official speaking anonymously. The Brotherhood, banned from officially participating in Egyptian politics, denounced the "arbitrary" arrests : The MB Bloc sees the detention of both MPs as a [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Wednesday that former Qwest CEO Ralph Nacchio can remain free on bail pending his appeal of his insider trading conviction . Nacchio was convicted in April on 19 counts of insider training for illegally selling 1.33 million shares valued at $52 million dollars in conjunction [...]

Center for Biological Diversity v. Dr. William Brennan, US District Court for the Northern District of California, August 21, 2007 . Read the full text of the order . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Justice Department (DOJ) argued in court papers filed Tuesday that the White House Office of Administration is not subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Although most of the White House is exempt from FOIA, some internal offices are subject to the act and the Office of Administration has in the past [...]