Décision n° 2006-535, Loi pour l'égalité des chances, French Constitutional Council, March 30, 2006 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Manfred Nowak , the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture , told reporters Thursday that he is currently investigating allegations raised by the Falun Gong spiritual group , banned by the Chinese government, that thousands of its followers were being held in a Chinese "concentration camp" to be killed for organ-harvesting purposes. The Falun Gong allegations [...]

US District Judge Emmit G. Sullivan has ruled that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has not provided adequate reasons for failing to more strictly regulate so-called 527 groups , nonprofits named for the tax code section under which they are organized. The groups are currently not subject to the same soft-money contribution restrictions as traditional [...]

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has said that Chile would continue to prosecute human rights abuse cases against those involved in the 1975 Operation Colombo massacre. Bachelet's comments came during the 21st anniversary of the massacre, one of the most infamous assassination incidents in Chile's history. Recently, right-wing politicians have expressed criticism of the prosecutions, saying [...]

The French Constitutional Council on Thursday declared that the First Employment Contract (CPE) , a controversial labor law which allows employers to hire workers under 26 for a conditional two-year period at the end of which they can be dismissed without cause, is constitutional. The ruling allows President Jacques Chirac , who will address the [...]

A group of 27 Muslim organizations have filed a lawsuit against the two editors from Jyllands-Posten who were responsible for the Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad , which last month set off worldwide protests among Muslims leading to multiple deaths , the burning of Danish embassy buildings , and boycotts of [...]

Terrorism Act 2006, received Royal Assent March 30, 2006. Read the full text of the Act . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Chief Justice Mawlavi Fazel Hadi Shinwari of the Afghanistan Supreme Court on Thursday asserted the independence of the high court in response to criticism from members of Afghanistan's parliament for the release of Abdul Rahman , the Afghan man who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity. Shinwari said that the parliament [...]

Omri Sharon, son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon , appealed his nine-month prison sentence on Thursday, apologizing for his actions and arguing that his resignation from the Knesset was punishment enough. Sharon was convicted of illegally raising money for his father's re-election campaign. The start of Sharon's prison term was delayed until September 1 [...]

The European Union warned Serbia Thursday that it must immediately make efforts to turn over Bosnian war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic in order for April negotiations regarding Serbia's potential membership to the EU to take place as planned. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that Serbia's cooperation in bringing Mladic to justice will decide whether [...]