The Ukrainian Constitutional Court Tuesday approved by a 10-4 margin a draft law that would alter the country's constitution by limiting presidential authority while strengthening parliamentary control. The measure, to take effective on January 1, 2006, gives parliament the power to appoint the prime minister, defense minister, and foreign minister after nomination by the president. [...]

Italy's highest court upheld a lower court ruling Tuesday permitting the extradition of Hussain Osman , also known as Hamdi Issac, a suspect in the failed July 21 London bomb attacks . Osman, who is expected to be transferred to Britain within the next 10 days, was arrested in Italy the week following the attacks [...]

Transcript of Day 1 of confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, Jr., nominated to be Chief Justice of the United States, US Senate Judiciary Committee, September 12, 2005. Read the full text transcript as provided to AP by by CQ Transcriptions, LLC .

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah approved government plans Monday to set up an "independent human rights commission" which would "protect human rights and spread awareness about them…in keeping with the provisions of Islamic law." The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting which was chaired by the King. This will be the second such agency in [...]

In a JURIST Forum special, JURIST Contributing Editor William G. Ross, Professor of Law at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law in Alabama, reviews the first day of the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, and wonders about the baseball metaphor chosen by the nominee to describe his judicial role… [...]

The number of detainees on a hunger strike at the Guantanamo Bay terror detention camp has increased to at least 128, a US military spokesman said Monday. Eighteen detainees are being force-fed intravenously as the hunger strike enters its second month and are reported to be in serious physical danger. An earlier hunger strike in [...]

Former Westar Energy CEO David Wittig and former Chief Strategy Officer Douglas Lake were both found guilty Monday of fraudulently taking millions of dollars from the company, the largest electric utility in Kansas. Witting was found guilty of 39 counts and Lake 30 counts on charges that included conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. Each [...]

Indonesian militant Rois, also known as Iwan Dharmawan, was sentenced to death Tuesday in Indonesia for his role in the September 2004 suicide car bombing at the Australian embassy in Jakarta which killed 10 Indonesians. Although Rois proclaimed to be innocent, he told reporters that he was happy to die a martyr after receiving the [...]

Opening statements by Senators at the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts, Jr., nominated to be Chief Justice of the United States, US Senate Judiciary Committee, September 12, 2005. Read the full text of the statements. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Compliance with the Attorney General's Investigative Guidelines, released to the public on September 14, 2005 . Excerpt: We found that the FBI's compliance with each of the four Investigative Guidelines differed considerably by Guideline and field office. The most significant problems were failures to comply with the Confidential Informant Guidelines. [...]