A military investigating officer in the case against Lance Cpl. Justin L. Sharratt , accused in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha in November 2005, has recommended dropping all charges against Sharratt according to Wednesday reports. In his Investigating Officer's Report , released by Sharratt's lawyers Tuesday, Ware described the government's allegations that [...]

A Chilean judge rejected a request by Peru Wednesday seeking the extradition of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori , who has been charged in his former country with corruption and human rights violations. In the 122-point rejection, Judge Orlando Alvarez said flimsy evidence led him to reject the grounds for extradition. Alvarez also said the [...]

The European Court of First Instance Wednesday overturned the European Union's freezing of assets against Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Jose Maria Sison and the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa Foundation , finding that the Council did not give its reasons or provide an opportunity for plaintiffs to challenge the legal basis or evidence used to [...]

Iran has opened an investigation into the judge who ordered the stoning execution of a man convicted of adultery , the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported Wednesday. According to ISNA, an unnamed judicial official said the action was in violation of the 2002 directive of judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi and would be [...]

The Council of Europe's European Commission for Democracy through Law issued an opinion Wednesday finding that the use of public video surveillance constitutes "an undeniable threat to fundamental rights such as the right to privacy and the right of respect for his or her private life." The commission urged European governments to enact specific regulations [...]

The Rwandan senate has approved a bill to abolish the death penalty , according to Wednesday reports by Radio Rwanda. The bill, proposed last year by Rwandan President Paul Kagame with the support of his party and passed by the lower house of parliament last month, is expected to come into force by the end [...]

The United Kingdom and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) signed an agreement Tuesday formalizing a British commitment to imprison former Liberian President Charles Taylor in Britain if Taylor is convicted by the SCSL. In June, the UK House of Commons passed the International Tribunals (Sierra Leone) Act 2007 , establishing a legal basis [...]

Jose Maria Sison, et al. v. Council of the European Union, et al., and Stichting Al-Aqsa v. Council of the European Union, et al., European Court of First Instance, July 11, 2007 . Read the full text of the Sison judgment, and the full text of the Al-Aqsa judgment. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Opinion on Video Surveillance in Public Places by Public Authorities and the Protection of Human Rights, European Commission for Democracy through Law – Council of Europe, July 11, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Former White House Political Director Sara M. Taylor refused to answer questions from the the US Senate Judiciary Committee in connection with the US Attorney firings controversy Wednesday, saying that she did not have the ability to independently "assess or question" President George W. Bush's assertion of executive privilege . Taylor said she will answer [...]