The defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein has filed a motion petitioning the Iraqi High Criminal Court, previously called the Iraqi Special Tribunal , to delay the first of Hussein's several expected trials set to begin on October 19 . Khalil Dulaimi said he only gained access to the prosecution's evidentiary file over the weekend, and [...]

The US Senate has approved the nomination of Judge John Roberts to serve as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States by a vote of 78-22 . Roberts is expected to be sworn in at a ceremony at the White House later today. Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase… Roberts headed for bipartisan Senate confirmation [...]

The United Nations Wednesday defended its decision approving Tunisia to host a UN summit on Internet access in the developing world, despite protests that the country is unfit due to repeated allegations of press and civil society abuses. The Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) issued a report earlier this week saying the country should not be [...]

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has said that he will veto a ban on human cloning approved by the state senate Wednesday by a margin of 21-12. The ban, previously approved by the Wisconsin Assembly in June, would prohibit reproductive cloning and Doyle said it would also hinder research for curing certain diseases and would harm [...]

The European Union will hold a meeting Sunday to discuss Austria's objections to beginning negotiations with Turkey on the country's proposed membership to the EU . All 25 of the EU nations must agree on a negotiating mandate before discussions with Turkey can begin, and Austria refused to vote in favor of the mandate Thursday, [...]

Leading Thursday's international brief, the current president of the UN Security Council , Philippine Ambassador Lauro Baja condemned the renewed violence in the Darfur region of Sudan , and warned that the Security Council was seriously concerned by the continued violations of the April 2004 cease-fire by both government and rebel forces. UN relief coordinator [...]

A Tokyo court dismissed a lawsuit against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Thursday that claimed his visits to a Shinto war shrine violated Japan's constitutional separation of religion and state. The court denied the plaintiffs' requests for 3.9 million yen ($34,433) in compensation and ruled that Koizumi's visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine were private acts. [...]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Wednesday strongly criticized a ruling from a US immigration judge earlier this week that Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles would not be handed over to Venezuela or Cuba for prosecution on alleged terrorist acts because he could potentially face torture. The former anti-Castro CIA operative is wanted in Venezuela regarding allegations [...]

President Bush granted pardons to 14 people Wednesday, according to a list released by the US Justice Department . Among those pardoned was a mineworker union member who was convicted for bombing a West Virginia coal mine in 1990 following an extended strike. Bush, who has granted 58 pardons during his tenure, has pardoned far [...]

FBI Director Robert Mueller has said the US is still seeking to improve the extradition of terror suspects from European governments. Mueller on Wednesday said more efficient measures were needed to increase the intelligence value of suspects and to bring justice to the victims of terror attacks. Mueller did not signal specific countries in his [...]