The British Ministry of Defence said Thursday that nine soldiers videotaped beating Iraqi civilians in an incident in southern Iraq in 2004 will not face charges before military courts-martial. The Army Prosecuting Authority (APA) said that while there was enough evidence to bring assault charges against two of the soldiers, the time period for charging [...]

The White House has defended President Bush's attachment of a signing statement to the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act , dismissing arguments that the statement changes administration policy on when mail can be opened without a warrant. Bush signed the law in late December and attached a statement, which said in part: The executive branch [...]

President Bush told reporters at the White House Thursday that last weekend's videoed hanging of Saddam Hussein amidst taunts from guards and witnesses fell short of what he would have liked, but nonetheless insisted on the legitimacy of the proceeding. Speaking at a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bush said :Saddam Hussein [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Chibli Mallat, visiting professor at Princeton University and a Middle East human rights lawyer who in 2003 turned down an invitation to join what became the Iraqi High Tribunal which eventually tried Saddam Hussein and sentenced him to death, says that sound legal process in the Saddam case was overwhelmed by passions [...]

Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, January 4, 2007 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Thursday upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot. In its ruling, the court upheld a lower court decision that the law does not put an undue burden on the right to vote and therefore does not violate the [...]

Government officials in Myanmar have granted amnesty to nearly three thousand prisoners, releasing them early in celebration of the country's Independence Day Thursday. Some 20 political prisoners were among the 2,831 released because their "moral behaviour and spiritual values have improved," according to a report in Myanmar's state-run newspaper the New Light of Myanmar . [...]

White House legal counsel Harriet Miers resigned from her post Thursday effective January 31. Press Secretary Tony Snow gave no specific reason for her departure except to say that she has been working at the White House for six years. In a White House press briefing he added:Harriet is a very special person in this [...]

A Chilean appeals court has dropped tax evasion charges against the widow and two children of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet . In a decision Wednesday, the Santiago Court of Appeals upheld charges against Pinochet's youngest son and two of his lawyers and also dropped other charges against Pinochet's relatives for acting as accomplices [...]

The government of France has said that it will recognize a citizen's legal right to housing . In a statement Wednesday, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said a draft law would implement the right in two stages, for the most needy by the end of 2008 and for others with insufficient housing by 2012. [...]