County Reports on Human Rights Practices, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 28, 2005 . Read the full text of the Reports here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Israeli supreme court on Monday ordered the army to reopen its investigation of the shooting of a US peace activist in April 2003, giving the military just 90 days to interview six witnesses to the shooting that left US peace activist Brian Avery with severe facial disfigurement after a violent altercation between Palestinian protestors [...]

A federal judge in South Carolina Monday granted a motion for a writ of habeas corpus for Jose Padilla , giving the Bush administration 45 days to either charge the terror suspect with a crime or set him free. In detaining Padilla for more than two years as an "enemy combatant", the government has maintained [...]

A US District Court judge has refused to block new federal campaign finance regulations that an abortion rights interest group claims will hinder its ability to participate in political campaigns, and by extension impinges upon its First Amendment rights. US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly refused a request for preliminary injunction by EMILY's List , which [...]

The US Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line , 03-1388, dealing with the issue of whether foreign cruise ships that stop at US ports must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act provisions protecting disabled passengers from discrimination. The lawsuit against Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. involves three cruises that originated in [...]

Ten years after the world's nations pledged to achieve equality for women in the Beijing Declaration , the progress meeting organized by the UN Commission on the Status of Women started Monday with controversy over American insistence that abortion should not be recognized as a human right. The Commission had wanted to reaffirm the Beijing [...]

UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke has indicated in a letter to his Conservative Party shadow that he will amend the Prevention of Terrorism bill so that the government would have to apply to a judge before detaining terror suspects under house arrest without trial. The amendment appears to mark a change in the government's position, [...]

The US State Department Monday released its 2004 annual reports on human rights practices in 196 countries, delivering with sharp criticisms of rights situations in Middle Eastern allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. The document also censured China, Russia and the six countries identified by the Bush administration as "outposts of tyranny:" Iran, North Korea, [...]

In Monday's international brief, France's National Assembly met today in joint session with the country's Senate at the historic Palace of Versailles to approve an amendment to the French constitution that would permit the nation to hold a referendum on approving the proposed European constitution . The amendment was made necessary after the French Constitutional [...]

The Supreme Court Monday granted certiorari to a case raising the question of when plaintiffs can sue in federal court, as opposed to state court. The question has lately sparked an important political debate, as plaintiffs often prefer to pursue claims in state courts, where payouts are larger for class-action lawsuits. Earlier this month, President [...]