Sunni Arabs and independent politicians Monday slammed efforts by Shiites and Kurds that will make it much more difficult to defeat the draft Iraqi constitution in the October 15 referendum . In a parliamentary session Sunday the Shiite and Kurd majority in the National Assembly voted to interpret Iraq's interim constitution, the Transitional Administrative Law [...]

Human Rights Watch said Monday that insurgent groups are committing war crimes in Iraq by targeting civilians and other non-combatants. In a new report , HRW documents attacks against civilian targets and other insurgent attacks HRW says violate the laws of war: The laws of war, binding on government armed forces and non-state armed groups, [...]

Lynndie England , who was sentenced last week to 3 years in prison for her role in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, said she knew of "worse things" happening at the Iraqi military prison. In an interview with MSNBC's Dateline Sunday, England said the pictures taken of her did not reflect the extent of [...]

Nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, President George W. Bush, October 3, 2005. Excerpt: This morning, I'm proud to announce that I am nominating Harriet Ellan Miers to serve as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. For the past five years, Harriet [...]

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , a Kurd, called for the resignation of Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari Sunday. Talabani blamed the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance for the country's political deadlock, accusing the majority party of monopolizing power and refusing to move ahead on a key issue for Kurds , the resettlement in Kirkuk. Azad Jundiyani, [...]

The new term of the US Supreme Court begins Monday with new Chief Justice John Roberts being sworn-in at the Court in a private investiture ceremony . Roberts, who took the constitutional oath during a White House ceremony last week, will preside over a number of high-profile, controversial cases dealing with abortion, assisted suicide and [...]

The European Union Monday postponed a ceremony to mark the opening of membership talks with Turkey , without setting a new time. The postponement comes as member states reached a deadlock over the terms for opening the talks on Turkey's proposed membership in the EU . Austria has demanded that Turkey not be offered full [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Donna Arzt of Syracuse University College of Law says that for all the furor over whether the Hurricane Katrina evacuees should or should not be called "refugees", that legal label doesn't apply in circumstances of natural disaster…. In the midst of the Katrina disaster, many of the victims, their supporters, and much [...]

AP is reporting that President Bush will nominate White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. A formal announcement is expected at 8 AM ET. Miers was mooted as a dark-horse candidate for the slot as early as July, and her name [...]

The Iraqi Special Tribunal announced Sunday that five as-yet-unnamed judges have been selected to preside over the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven of his associates for the 1982 killings of 143 Shiite Muslims in the village of Dujail . The trial is set to begin on October 19 , despite motions filed by Hussein [...]