H.R.4659, United States Senate, passed February 2, 2006 . Read the full text of the legislation. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday temporarily stopped Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline from accessing private abortion clinic records until a lower court determines whether Kline actually has a right to see the records. The state supreme court feared that Kline's insistence on access to records from two abortion clinics for his investigation of potential [...]

US District Judge Marcia Cooke said Friday that Jose Padilla should not wear handcuffs and ankle chains during court appearances unless US government officials can show that Padilla poses an immediate safety threat. Cooke also ordered federal prosecutors to provide defense attorneys with final transcripts of thousands of intercepted telephone conversations by March 10, evidence [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) , the judicial arm of the United Nations, ruled Friday that it does not have jurisdiction over a case filed by the Democratic Republic of Congo against Rwanda on charges of aggression and human rights abuses stemming from the 1998-2003 civil war . The ICJ asserted that Rwanda has [...]

Scholars' response to US Department of Justice domestic surveillance memo of January 19, 2006; February 2, 2006. Read the full text of the letter .

French immigration officials have deported a man from Mali involved in the riots that overtook Parisian suburbs and spread across the country last fall, the first of seven foreigners so far found guilty in connection with the riots who will all soon be deported. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy initially ordered the deportations of all [...]

US District Judge Reggie B. Walton on Friday set a trial date of January 8, 2007 for former vice-presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements regarding the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame . Libby, who publicly outlined his defense strategy this week, [...]

The National Assembly of Bulgaria on Friday approved several amendments to the country's constitution at first reading, responding to a warning from the European Union (EU) over corruption in Bulgaria. The amendments, which were approved by 183 lawmakers, would strip the legislature of its immunity from criminal prosecution, extend the power of prosecutors and create [...]

In Friday's environmental law news, US Senator Pete Domenici, the Republican chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee , joined by Senator Jeff Bingaman, the ranking Democrat committee member, has issued a report calling for a mandatory trading program for carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. The committee plans to have [...]

Ugandan High Court Justice John Bosco Katutsi on Friday became the second judge to withdraw from the trial of opposition presidential candidate Kizza Besigye for treason , citing primarily health reasons related to high blood pressure. Katutsi, who presided over Besigye’s trial for a rape charge in which a jury recommended a not guilty verdict [...]