British judge Rosalyn Higgins , a highly-respected legal scholar and international lawyer, was elected president of International Court of Justice (ICJ) Monday, becoming the first woman to serve in that role. Higgins, the only woman ever to sit on the ICJ, was elected by her 15 fellow judges to serve a three-year term as president. [...]

The retrial of the first federal lawsuit against the manufacturers of Vioxx began Monday in New Orleans with jury selection. The case first went to trial last year, but was declared a mistrial in December when jurors could not agree on a verdict. Evelyn Irvin Plunkett is suing Merck , alleging that her husband died [...]

The defense team in the Saddam Hussein trial said Monday that the proceedings against the deposed Iraqi dictator in the Iraqi High Criminal Court – formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal – have been fixed by United States and Iraq's Shiite leaders and called for court-appointed defense lawyers to quit their positions . Hussein and his [...]

At least five people protesting the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in Danish and other European papers were killed in Afghanistan Monday when security forces and police opened fire on demonstrators as the cartoons furor setting blasphemy against free speech reached global proportions. Two Afghans were killed outside the US airbase at Bagram [...]

A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Monday that the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority violated the constitutional separation of church and state when it seized a woman's home to help Hope Partnership for Education , a religious group, build a private school. In a 4-3 decision , judges of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the seizure [...]

Russia's Chief Military Prosecutor on Monday told the Federation Council , the upper house of parliament, that approximately 6,000 people were abused by Russian military personnel last year and 2,600 soldiers were convicted of abusing other soldiers . Alexander Savenkov said that "beating has become a typical method of dealing with subordinates in the military," [...]

Zacarias Moussaoui was escorted from a Virginia courtroom Monday after an argument with US District Judge Leonie Brinkema during the first few minutes of jury selection in his sentencing trial . Moussaoui declared "I am al Qaeda" upon his entrance to the courtroom and informed the judge that his lawyers "do not represent" him. Judge [...]

A lawmaking committee in the Russian parliament is considering legislation to tackle the country's increasing problem with racism and extremism, according to the chairman of committee in the State Duma . The lower parliamentary house is reacting to recent events in Russia indicating an increase in extremist activity, including deadly attacks on dark-skinned foreigners and [...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the Bush administration's controversial domestic surveillance program opened Monday with testimony from US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after senators argued over whether or not he should be given a sworn oath to tell the truth . A vote by the Republican-dominated committee resulted in no oath, and Gonzales proceeded [...]

An Italian prosecutor is seeking to put 17 former Nazi SS members on trial for participation in the 1944 massacre of 700 civilians in the town of Marzabotto in Bologna. Prosecutor Marco de Paolis has asked a judge in the town of La Spezia to add the officer and 16 enlisted men of the 16th [...]