Two UN legal experts from the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees will travel to North Korea later next week to conduct a legal training session designed to improve understanding of UN treaties and their implications. Training leader Palitha Kohona noted that the sessions will mark the first time a legal delegation has gone [...]

The Haitian Electoral Council ordered Friday that the names of two Haitian-born US citizens, Dumarsais Simeus and Samir Mourra, be taken off the ballot of authorized candidates for the country's upcoming presidential election . The decision is in direct violation of a Haitian Supreme Court ruling that said that Simeus, a Texas-based businessman, should be [...]

The Federal Court of Canada has announced that it will hear the asylum appeal of US deserter Jeremy Hinzman . In January 2004, days before his scheduled deployment to Iraq, Hinzman deserted the US army and fled to Canada where he sought asylum and accused the US of committing war crimes in Iraq. In March, [...]

Delegates from over 120 member states of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) concluded their tenth annual, five-day Conference of the State Parties at The Hague Friday, and agreed to improve efforts to fully implement the mandates of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty in their respective countries. The states adopted a [...]

Attorneys for US Representative Tom DeLay have requested internal communications from Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle in an effort to uncover information showing opposition to indicting the congressman. DeLay's legal team hopes the documents will strengthen their argument that the conspiracy and money laundering charges against him should be dismissed. Three grand juries heard [...]

Theodor Meron, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) , said Friday during a visit to Belgrade that the tribunal is becoming impatient with Serbia's "endless delays" in handing over war crimes fugitives, including Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. Meron spoke to reporters after leaving a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister [...]

The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled to allow a law that prohibits criticism against the king and blocks private radio stations from broadcasting news programs. Last month, King Gyanendra approved the ordinance which authorizes imprisonment and higher fines against individuals who publish "banned items" and prohibits publication of stories that promote disrespect or hatred [...]

The Pentagon has refused to allow expert witnesses to testify at the upcoming military commission hearing for Australian terror suspect David Hicks , a decision that his US military lawyer says increases the likelihood that he will not receive a fair trial. Major Michael Mori said he retained five experts in international law, including a [...]

The UK Labour Party government was accused Thursday of compromising the neutrality of the police force by asking them to support an anti-terrorism provision authorizing the detention of terror suspects without charge for up to 90 days, a proposal which was defeated in the House of Commons earlier this week. The London Metropolitan Police Authority [...]

Leading Friday's environmental law news, representatives from countries surrounding the Barents Sea have held a meeting in Norway to discuss global warming and the Kyoto Protocol . The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) consists of representatives from Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the European Commission. The BEAC adopted a number of resolutions on environmental [...]