Weighing in on the debate over changes to the federal sentencing guidelines, the Justice Department has suggested that minimum sentences should remain the same but that judges should be given the flexibility to give longer sentences, up the maximum...

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Thursday that governments must consult with the Assembly of First Nations before developing land that aboriginal groups claim to own, but that governments need not receive consent before using land. The Court...

In an attempt to resolve division among UN member states, Italy has put forth a compromise proposal for a global treaty on human cloning. The UN General Assembly's Legal Committee (the Sixth Committee) has been debating two proposals, one...

The UN Security Council officially opened for business Thursday outside of its New York City headquarters for only the fourth time in its history. The Council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, began with an empassioned plea by UN Secretary-General Kofi...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he doesn't intend to change the Russian constitution or take more power for the presidency when reforming Russia's government structure. Putin said proposals in his reform package, which includes replacing elected governors...

The European Parliament voted 449-149 (with 82 abstentions) Thursday to approve the slate of incoming EU Commissioners as put forth by new Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Barroso withdrew his original slate of commissioners from consideration by the European...

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, November 18.On Capitol Hill, the US Senate will convene at 9:30 AM ET. Watch a live webcast (via C-SPAN).... The US House will...

In Wednesday's environmental law news, the US has encouraged 13 other countries to join an international agreement to reduce methane emissions by trapping the gas and using it for power generation. The program, Methane to Markets, is an attempt...

Three plaintiffs supported by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance have filed a lawsuit against Kentucky's recently-approved constitutional ban on same-sex marriage on the grounds that it applies both to marriage and civil unions. The suit says that by not allowing...

Cross examination of Disney CEO Michael Eisner began Wednesday in a shareholder suit against Walt Disney Co. over whether the executive board neglected its duty to shareholders in allowing former president Michael Ovitz to leave with a $140 million...