US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) , outgoing chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee , and current ranking member of the committee Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have introduced a bill which would restore habeas corpus rights to military detainees and amend the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) . A key provision in the MCA, which [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a controversial bill that eliminates a rule requiring at least 50 percent of voters to turn out in order for poll results to be validated. Putin signed the measure despite opposition by Ella Pamfilova , the chairwoman of Putin's Human Rights Council , and other critics [...]

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned Wednesday after admitting that he gave incorrect testimony to a Canadian House of Commons committee about the Maher Arar case. Arar is a Canadian citizen who, on suspicion of ties to al Qaeda, was deported from the US to Syria in 2002 and tortured there. Canadian Prime [...]

The US Senate unanimously passed the Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Act Wednesday, a bill that will increase security measures for judges both in and out of courtrooms across the country. The bill was written in response to the increased number of courtroom shootings and attacks on judges and their family members in [...]

The Iraq Study Group (ISG) recommended Wednesday that the Bush administration provide "strong" support and funding for US Justice Department efforts in Iraq "to establish courts; to train judges, prosecutors, and investigators; and to create institutions and practices to fight corruption." In its report , the ISG noted that "new and refurbished courthouses with improved [...]

US v. Belfast, US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, December 6, 2006 . Read the full text of the indictment . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US House of Representatives Wednesday rejected by a vote of 250-162 a controversial bill that would have mandated medical practitioners to inform women seeking an abortion after 20 weeks of the pain the procedure causes to an unborn fetus. The Unknown Child Awareness Act, HR 6099 , introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) , [...]

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa ordered the Zambian Police Service Wednesday to ban future rallies led by populist opposition politician Michael Sata , disregarding recommendations by national Solicitor-General Sunday Nkonde. Mwanawasa had ordered police to stop the rallies led by Sata's supporters, but Nkonde overruled the orders and allowed the meetings to occur. Mwanawasa said the [...]

The Sri Lanka cabinet enacted strict new anti-terror laws Wednesday that ban individuals from aiding anyone "engaged in terrorism" and prohibit the wearing of uniforms "relating to terrorism." The new laws also give police and security forces additional broad powers to arrest and interrogate terror suspects. The laws come as a response to the increasing [...]

Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Roy Belfast Jr. and Charles Taylor Jr., son of former Liberia president Charles Taylor, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on charges of committing torture in the first prosecution brought under a federal anti-torture statute passed [...]