Australia's Federal Court has agreed to hold a hearing next week to consider a petition filed Wednesday by lawyers for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks . Hicks' lawyers have asked the court to direct the federal government, including Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer , to negotiate Hicks' release from the [...]

A US District Court judge has refused to entertain a motion to stay the execution of Saddam Hussein that was filed by Italian advocate Giovanni di Stefano , an advisor to Hussein's defense team. US District Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected the motion because di Stefano is not admitted to practice before the US District Court [...]

Lawyers for several Chinese detainees still held at Guantanamo Bay have filed a lawsuit in US federal court seeking their release due to the flawed process by which they were determined to be enemy combatants. The group of seven ethnic Uighurs were deemed enemy combatants by Guantanamo's Combatant Status Review Tribunals , while five other [...]

The US military is close to charging at least five US Marines in connection with the deaths of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last November, a military spokesperson said late Tuesday. Though specific details have not yet been disclosed, some Marines may be charged with murder and others with the lesser charge of negligent homicide. [...]

Doe v. Rabago, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, December 5, 2006 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Lopez v. Gonzales, United States Supreme Court, December 5, 2006 . Read the court's opinion per justice Souter along with a dissent from Justice Thomas. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Finland's parliament voted to ratify the proposed European Constitution Tuesday, taking steps toward becoming the 16th country to ratify the charter as Finland's six-month presidency of the European Union comes to a close. Parliament members voted 125-39 to ratify the EU constitution, with four MPs abstaining. Finnish President Tarja Halonen must now also approve ratification. [...]

Michael Sata , Zambia's opposition leader and head of the Patriotic Front , was arrested Tuesday for allegedly making false declarations on August 11 concerning his assets in his presidential candidate form. If convicted, Sata faces a minimum jail term of two years. Zambian law requires presidential candidates to declare their assets and liabilities prior [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Kamehameha Schools , a private school that accepts no federal funding, can utilize an admissions policy that gives priority to Native Hawaiian students before admitting non-Native Hawaiians. The court's majority reasoned that "Because the Schools are a wholly private K-12 educational establishment, [...]

Italian prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to issue indictments for 26 US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents and five officials from the Italian Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI) , including former SISMI chief Nicola Pollari, on kidnapping charges for allegedly orchestrating the extraordinary rendition of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr . Nasr, [...]