Politicians, civil rights advocates and privacy advocates have criticized the recent White House agreement allowing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to determine the constitutionality of the NSA's controversial domestic spying program . In reaction to the plan US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) plans to re-introduce a proposal blocking NSA funding unless intelligence warrants are [...]

Former NatWest bankers David Bermingham, Giles Darby and Gary Mulgrew, pleaded not guilty Friday to a total of seven counts of wire fraud for an allegedly fraudulent sale of Enron stock. The bankers were extradited to the US Thursday following a three year court battle to prevent the extradition. The extradition also prompted protests from [...]

Leandro Despouy, the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, on Friday expressed "serious concern" over a recently passed Egyptian judicial reforms bill . Despouy said: Concerning the text of the law, the Special Rapporteur expressed particular concern over the fact that it does not set out [...]

The Chinese Ministry of Health has approved new regulations governing the use and international transport of corpses in an attempt to crackdown on the illegal trade of organs. China has been criticized in recent months for harvesting and selling the organs of executed prisoners without the consent of the prisoners or their families, but Chinese [...]

American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee et al. v. Riley C. Darnell et al., Supreme Court of Tennessee, July 14, 2006 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Citizens for Equal Protection et al. v. Bruning et al., United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, July 14, 2006 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Top UN officials Friday condemned Israel, the Palestinians and Lebanese Hezbollah militants for intentionally inflicting civilian casualties on one another contrary to international humanitarian law as violence continued to escalate in the Middle East, with Israel stepping up military action against Lebanese targets and Hezbollah militants attacking Haifa with rockets. Fighting has intensified in recent [...]

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. The Court held that the ACLU lacked standing to bring the challenge on behalf of three state representatives, ACLU members, and [...]

A legal advisor to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Friday that the plan of Yushchenko's political rival and former Ukrainian prime minister Viktor Yanukovych , to directly nominate a candidate to serve as prime minister could constitute an illegal seizure of power. Ukraine is in the midst of a political crisis as no government has [...]

Belgrade prosecutors filed criminal charges against ten Serbs on Friday, accusing them of hiding indicted war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic from authorities, according to Belgrade radio station B92 . The charges say the accused aided Mladic with the knowledge that he is wanted for trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [...]