Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock is reconsidering the removal from Australian libraries of books which the government fears may incite terrorist activity. In a television interview Monday Ruddock expressed a willingness to allow structured and limited research access to two banned books on jihad by the late Palestinian Islamist Abdullah Azam which have been taken [...]

A federal judge Monday denied motions by former Alabama governor Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy to overturn their corruption convictions. US District Judge Mark Fuller ruled there was "substantial evidence" to back jury verdicts against them. In June 2006, Siegelman was convicted on 10 counts, including bribery, conspiracy, and mail fraud. Scrushy [...]

The White House announced Monday that the Bush administration will allow US military aid for nearly two dozen countries that have not signed so-called Article 98 agreements which shield US soldiers from prosecution before the International Criminal Court (ICC) . The bilateral agreements provide that neither party to a specific accord will bring the other’s [...]

Germany should consider amending its penal code to allow the use of swastikas in anti-Nazi materials, Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said Monday. Zypries' remarks follow Friday's decision by a state court in Stuttgart ordering Juergen Kamm to pay a fine of 3,600 euros (US $4,600) for selling T-shirts and badges featuring a swastika surrounded by [...]

The US Supreme Court Monday turned back a number of cases brought before it for appeal, including that of a Maine advocacy group which the Court deemed moot. The nonprofit Christian Civic League of Maine had challenged a district court dismissal of its challenge to the electioneering communication ban in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act [...]

Mexico urged President Bush on Monday to veto the Secure Fence Act of 2006 authorizing the construction of a 700-mile fence along the US-Mexico border . A spokesman for Mexican President Vicente Fox said the bill "hurts bilateral relations, goes against the spirit of cooperation needed to guarantee security in the common, creates a climate [...]

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has been hit with new voter fraud allegations stemming from an aggressive voter registration drive focusing on helping poor people overcome obstacles to the ballot. Philadelphia has reported 3,000 invalid voting cards submitted by ACORN since April because of missing or inaccurate information, noting that four [...]

UK Conservative Party shadow Home Secretary David Davis attacked the ruling Labour party Monday for passing anti-terror laws limiting traditional freedoms, valuing the rights of criminals over those of defendants, failing to prosecute terrorists, and releasing foreign prisoners, among other complaints. In a wide-ranging speech before the Conservative party annual conference, Davis declared: has always [...]

A new law coming into effect Monday in England and Wales requires criminal defendants to pass a financial means test to qualify for free legal aid in cases before magistrates' courts. The Criminal Defence Service Act of 2006 , which received royal assent at the end of March, aims to cut down on legal expenses [...]

France has issued arrest warrants for two high-ranking officials of the east African country of Djibouti in connection with the investigation into the alleged assassination of a French judge in 1995. French officials suspect Djibouti state prosecutor Djama Souleiman and security chief Hassan Said of interfering with witnesses in the ongoing investigation. The judge's death [...]