Following up on a story reported earlier today on JURIST's Paper Chase, Senate Democrats said Tuesday they will not try to filibuster the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, although they are expected to delay a final vote until at least Thursday. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid confirmed that Democrats would not stand in [...]

Following up a story reported earlier today on JURIST's Paper Chase, the US State Department has welcomed the release of the UN report on the violence in Sudan , although it has maintained its characterization of the actions as genocide, contrary to the UN's conclusions. The US previously called the Sudanese government's actions in Darfur [...]

Slovenia's National Assembly ratified the European Constitution Tuesday with an overwhelming 79-4 vote in favor, making it the third country to do so following Lithuania and Hungary . The constitution requires ratification by all 25 member states before it takes effect in November 2006. Spain is the first major EU country set to vote on [...]

Israel's attorney general said Tuesday that he had previously been unaware of the government's secret seizure of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem under a 1950 land law. Attorney General Meni Manuz called the plan illegal and ordered the government to halt it, arguing the law did not apply since many Palestinians were being kept from [...]

The British government has released an Egyptian man it had held since December 2001 without trial or charges, the Home Office reported Tuesday. The man, identified only as "C," was released from prison Monday because there was not enough evidence to hold him as a terror suspect, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said. No conditions were [...]

Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) , who have been examining the trading schemes Enron employed on Western power consumers, contend that the energy giant should be forced to relinquish all profits, some $1.9 billion, earned in that region between January 1997 and June 2003. Just last summer [...]

Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General Pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1564 of 18 September 2004, January 25, 2005. Excerpt from the executive summary: Based on a thorough analysis of the information gathered in the course of its investigations, the Commission established that the Government of the [...]

Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler Tuesday introduced what he termed "landmark legislation" to legalize same-sex marriage in Canadian federal law. Cotler described the Civil Marriage Act as protecting both minority rights and freedom of religion, so "that no religious officials will be forced to perform marriages that are contrary to their beliefs." Opposition Conservative politicians [...]

Haiti's interim election council has called for national elections on Nov. 13 to fill the gap created last year by the ouster of elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide . Local elections are scheduled for Oct. 9. Aristide supporters have threatened an election boycott if so-called political attacks continue. The UN plans to to send a team [...]

Abdul Hussein al-Hindawi, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq , said Tuesday that a final vote count from the January 30 election would be announced in "a few days." The IECI had previously estimated the vote count would take 7 to 10 days, but results are now expected sooner. The final count began [...]