JURIST Guest Columnist Sherrilyn Ifill of the University of Maryland School of Law says that US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has some serious explaining to do over positions on civil rights issues he took as a young and ambitious lawyer in the Reagan administration… When the draft records of President Bill Clinton were made [...]

US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) , chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that he has started a formal inquiry into the Justice Department's handling of the Jose Padilla case. Padilla, a US citizen, had been held without charge for over three years as an enemy combatant on suspicion that he had been planning [...]

Opposition activists and human rights groups have condemned the restrictive amendments to Belarus' Criminal Code that were passed unanimously by the country's upper house of parliament. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also expressed concern . The amendments criminalize activities such as the "discrediting" of Belarus, participating in mass demonstrations, and financing political [...]

The trial of the five main suspects in the failed July 21 London bombings will begin in September 2006. The five Londoners, Hussein Osman, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, and Ramzi Mohamed, are being detained in Belmarsh Prison in London. During a Thursday hearing at the Old Bailey, the five suspects appeared [...]

USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, Conference Report, US House Judiciary Committee, December 8, 2005. Read the full text of the report , and review a section-by-section summary . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday defended contentious statements made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on US terrorist rendition practices , saying through a spokesperson that she has his "full confidence" as a "highly respected jurist," and that "international civil servants should be allowed to speak freely" on their areas of expertise. [...]

Signatory nations to the Kyoto Protocol meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal Thursday agreed to a final protocol provision governing the rules for ensuring compliance with emissions standards. A country that exceeds its set goal for emissions will now incur an additional 30 percent penalty and must balance out the difference in [...]

The US House Judiciary Committee approved a complex bill aimed at preventing illegal immigration in a split party 23-15 vote Thursday, allowing a full House vote on the legislation next week. The bill , sponsored by committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) , adds border patrol agents and equipment, requests millitary assistance for border surveillance, [...]

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell , a Republican, has signed into law legislation that bans campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits political action committee (PAC) funding, closes a loophole allowing unrestricted corporate funding, and establishes a publicly-funded voluntary campaign contribution program. Read a transcript of Rell's remarks at the signing ceremony Wednesday. Critics of [...]

In remarks to the North Atlantic Council of NATO on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured European leaders that the US government does not allow torture of suspected terrorists and that it respects the principles of the Geneva Conventions. Her comments in the final stage of a European trip came after days of [...]