A New York appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling that would have allowed a same-sex marriage in New York City. Earlier this year, New York City Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan had ruled [PDF...

US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) , chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that he has started a formal inquiry into the Justice Department's handling of the Jose Padilla case. Padilla, a US citizen,...

Opposition activists and human rights groups have condemned the restrictive amendments to Belarus' Criminal Code that were passed unanimously by the country's upper house of parliament. The Organization for Security and...

The trial of the five main suspects in the failed July 21 London bombings will begin in September 2006. The five Londoners, Hussein Osman, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, and Ramzi Mohamed,...

USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, Conference Report, US House Judiciary Committee, December 8, 2005. Read the full text of the report , and review a section-by-section summary . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here....

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Thursday defended contentious statements made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour on US terrorist rendition practices , saying through a spokesperson that she has...

Signatory nations to the Kyoto Protocol meeting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal Thursday agreed to a final protocol provision governing the rules for ensuring compliance with emissions standards. A country...

The US House Judiciary Committee approved a complex bill aimed at preventing illegal immigration in a split party 23-15 vote Thursday, allowing a full House vote on the legislation next week. The bill [text; committee press release,...

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell , a Republican, has signed into law legislation that bans campaign contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, limits political action committee (PAC) funding, closes a loophole allowing unrestricted corporate funding, and establishes a...

In remarks to the North Atlantic Council of NATO on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice assured European leaders that the US government does not allow torture of suspected terrorists and that it respects the...