The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lacks the statutory authority to compel lawyers to provide periodic notice of privacy to clients under the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act , regulating "financial institutions." The Court said that Congress never intended for the Act to apply to lawyers [...]

Azerbaijan's main political opposition party, Azadliq , announced Tuesday that it plans to boycott the new parliament that won power after disputed November elections. Azadliq won five seats in that contest, in which both party members and international observers allege widespread fraud. After the elections, both international monitors and the political opposition challenged the outcome [...]

The heads of Romania's parliament Tuesday announced plans to seek an inquiry into the reports that Romania hosted a secret CIA prison . Meanwhile in Poland, identified as another European country that may have harbored a secret CIA facility for terror detainees, the Justice Ministry announced that it will not investigate those reports, which the [...]

In a motion filed Tuesday, prosecutors in the trial of Zacarias Mousaoui asked a federal judge to limit impact testimony of the hundreds of living victims who expressed their desire to testify about their loss as a result of the September 11 attacks. Arguing that allowing those "several hundred" victims an opportunity to speak would [...]

AP is reporting that a federal jury has acquitted Sami Al-Arian , the former Florida professor accused of aiding Palestinian terrorists, on some counts but has deadlocked on others. Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase… Ex-professor calls no witnesses to defend against US terror charges Federal judge says no mistrial in ex-professor terror case Israeli police [...]

In response to growing scrutiny of his Administration's interrogation practices, President Bush Tuesday insisted that the United States does not secretly transfer terrorism suspects to foreign governments that engage in torture. The Bush Administration has been increasingly questioned about the practice, known as extraordinary rendition , since reports surfaced that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [...]

The interrogation of Syrian officials , part of a UN inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minster Rafik Hariri , will be suspended after the last of five officials is questioned and returned to Syria on Wednesday. Two officials, who were brought into the UN offices in Austria via a concealed entrance, were [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic Rights (FAIR) , concerning whether the Solomon Amendment , a federal law that requires educational institutions, including law schools, to allow military recruiters on campus in order to receive federal funds, violates universities' First Amendment right of association. The Solomon [...]

The Texas trial of US Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) on money laundering charges is expected to begin early next year after Judge Pat Priest on Monday dismissed a conspiracy charge against DeLay but refused to throw out the money laundering allegations. Priest's decision can be appealed by Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle within 15 [...]

The United Nations on Tuesday fired Carina Perelli, head of the UN's Electoral Assistance Division , for alleged employee harassment and management failures. Allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation in Perelli's office were first reported in March of this year. In August, the UN formally accused Perelli of employee harassment . UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [...]