Britain's largest defense contractor BAE Systems said Tuesday that the US Department of Justice has initiated a formal investigation into BAE's compliance with anti-corruption laws amid allegations that BAE established a $120 million slush fund for members of the Saudi Royal family in exchange for defense contracts. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesperson said that the [...]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) Tuesday upheld a Belgian law codifying the European Union's Third Money Laundering Directive , which obligates lawyers to report facts or suspicion of their client's money laundering. The law was challenged by Belgian bar associations, but the court held that the requirement does not infringe on the right to [...]

The Election Commission of Thailand is proceeding with criminal charges against two former government ministers under former Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra for their alleged role in committing election fraud during the voided April 2006 parliamentary elections . Election Commission Secretary General Suthiphol Thavichaikam said Tuesday that the commission will charge Thammarack Issarangura na Ayutthaya, former [...]

A federal judge from the US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Lt. Col. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, a US Army Reserve officer, to 21 months in prison Monday and imposed a fine of $144,500 for Hopfengardner's involvement in a construction bidding and kickback scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq. [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, president of the National Lawyers Guild, says that FBI surveillance of National Lawyers Guild members and activities between 1940 and 1975 – highlighted in a recent New York Times report drawing on newly-released documents – was motivated by a desire to blunt the Guild's [...]

Iraqi security officials issued an arrest warrant and raided the home Tuesday of Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi to investigate allegations that al-Hashimi masterminded an assassination attempt against a parliamentary candidate in February 2005. Al-Hashimi, a Sunni, is the first member of the Iraqi cabinet to face an arrest warrant. Al-Hashimi's party, the General Council [...]

Google is urging the US government , including the Departments of State and Commerce, the Office of the US Trade Representative , and various House and Senate committees, to fight the rise of global Internet censorship , according to Monday reports. Google's Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Andrew McLaughlin said in a statement [...]

The government of Canada , currently investigating whether detainees in Afghanistan were abused while in Canadian custody , will not make inquiries into allegations of torture or abuse after the detainees were transferred to Afghan officials , according to Monday reports. Lieutenant-Commander Philip Anido, a spokesman for the board of inquiry in charge of the [...]

Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates said Monday that Portugal – which takes over the rotating EU presidency from Germany in July – would work to have negotiations pursuant to Saturday's landmark agreement on an EU reform treaty finalized by October. Portugal's Permanent Representative to the European Union, Alvaro Mendonca, told the Centre for European Policy [...]

German prosecutors said Monday they will seek the extradition of 13 US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents they believe to be responsible for the alleged 2003 kidnapping and extraordinary rendition of German national Khalid El-Masri . US State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said that he hadn't formally heard about the German request, but told [...]