The Taipei High Prosecutors Office in Taiwan indicted Nationalist Party (KMT) leader Ma Ying-jeou Tuesday on corruption charges. The allegations against Ma, who had been considered a top contender in the 2008 presidential elections, involve $333,000 taken from a city expense fund during his term as mayor of Taipei during 2002 to 2006. Ma has [...]

JURIST Contributing Editor Mary Ellen O'Connell of Notre Dame Law School says that the United States today has no legal basis to use significant armed force against Iran, and that another unlawful war in the wake of the Iraq debacle would be very damaging to American interests and image abroad… Rumors are flying of a [...]

The Brussels Court of First Instance ruled Tuesday that Google violated copyright law by linking to Belgian newspapers without receiving permission to do so. The Internet company was ordered to pay $32,500 (25,000 euros) per day until all of the content is removed, retroactive to 139 days ago when Google was first asked to take [...]

North Korea agreed Tuesday that it would end its nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid as part of a multi-stage initiative with partners in the so-called Six-Party Talks . In the initial stage, North Korea promised to shut down and seal its main nuclear reactor and in exchange for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel. [...]

An Idaho State Senate committee Monday passed a bill requiring written parental consent for minors to get abortions . In a 7-2 vote, the State Affairs Committee approved Senate Bill No. 1082 , which amends, repeals and adds to existing law relating to abortion to revise a public records exemption; provide for criminal act state [...]

The Indiana State Senate voted 39 to 10 Monday to pass a state constitutional amendment defining marriage to be between a man and a woman. While same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state under its enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act , supporters of SJ 7 say an amendment is necessary should a [...]

The New Mexico House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that would abolish the state death penalty . HB 190 proposes replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment without possibility of release or parole. Bill sponsor Rep. Gail Chasey said the death penalty fails as a crime deterrent and has been disproportionately applied to minorities [...]

French conservative presidential candidate and current Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had expressed support for Sarkozy's version of a European constitution , although Merkel did not confirm his claim. Sarkozy proposes adopting only the first two chapters of the draft constitution to gain the support of all EU member [...]

UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith on Monday decried the new rules governing US military detainee trials contained in the Manual for Military Commissions released late last month. Speaking to the Amercian Bar Association House of Delegates at the ABA Midyear Meeting in Miami, Goldsmith reiterated his call during a previous US visit to shut down [...]

Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell vetoed an amendment to the City Charter Monday that made English the official language of the city government. The Nashville City Council approved the amendment last week, but city attorneys advised Purcell that it violated the state and federal constitutions and could prove expensive if the city was forced to litigate. [...]