A Chinese draft law on criminal suspects' rights to meet with defense lawyers after questioning has been broadened to include cases involving state secrets, according to Chinese state media. A set of reforms to China's Law on Lawyers was initially presented to Chinese legislators in June, but at that time it included a provision that [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Saturday urged the interim government of Bangladesh to respect international human rights standards as it enforces a curfew and seeks to police demonstrations. The government imposed the curfew Wednesday after three days of student protests resulted in hundreds of injuries and one death. Protesters called for an end to emergency laws [...]

China's cabinet, the State Council , is considering a regulation to ban non-medical sex-selective abortions in the country, according to a senior official quoted by state media sources Saturday. Wang Yongqing, deputy head of the Office of Legislative Affairs of the State Council, said that the measure was one of several laws and regulations on [...]

US Judge Advocates General told a group of Republican senators last month that CIA prisoner interrogation methods authorized under a July executive order issued by President Bush could contravene the Geneva Conventions, according to the Boston Globe. The military lawyers were talking to John Warner, Lindsay Graham, and a top aide to John McCain, all [...]

A court in the central Asian republic of Georgia , formerly part of the old Soviet Union, has sentenced 12 opposition activists to prison terms of up to eight-and-a-half years for participating in an alleged coup plot to overthrow the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili . Lawyers for the activists immediately condemned the ruling of [...]

The Alabama Attorney General's office said Friday that Attorney General Troy King would try to prevent the early release from a Maryland state prison of Arthur Bremer , the man who shot ex-Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1972 during his independent presidential campaign, leaving him paralyzed for life. Bremer has served 35 years of a [...]

The Liberian Supreme Court ruled Friday that former interim Liberian President Gyude Bryant can stand trial on embezzlement charges. Bryant was charged in February with embezzling $1.3 million during his tenure from October 2003 until January 2006. The indictment was based on an audit conducted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) , [...]

US Bankruptcy Judge Louise DeCarl Adler ordered 42 clergy sex abuse cases against the Catholic Diocese of San Diego to go to trial Friday, accepting arguments by plaintiffs lawyers that the move could push pressure on the diocese to settle the claims. The trials were suspended in February – the night before they were scheduled [...]

Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej formally signed the country's new constitution into law Friday. The constitution, put forward by the military-backed interim government, was approved in a national referendum last week. The interim government has praised the constitution as a step toward democracy, but supporters of deposed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the new [...]

A US judge Friday refused to reject a French extradition request for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to face charges of money laundering through French banks. Noriega and his wife were sentenced in absentia to 10 years in jail in 1999, but France has agreed to hold a new trial if he is extradited. Noriega's [...]