Legal Authorities Supporting the Activities of the National Security Agency Described by the President, US Department of Justice, January 19, 2006 the Fourth Amendment's fundamental requirement of reasonableness"]. Read the full text of the white paper . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Final Assessment Report, International Mission for Iraqi Elections, January 19, 2006 . Read the full text of the report. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Justice Department Thursday released a 42-page white paper laying out a legal basis for the domestic surveillance program run by the National Security Agency . The paper argues that the NSA activities are supported by the president's position as Commander in Chief and congressional authorization for the war on al Qaeda under the [...]

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Thursday there is no immediate plan to release six of eight women detained by US forces in Iraq. His comment and similar ones from US military spokesmen follow statements by Iraq's Justice Ministry earlier in the day that the women were being freed . The ministry said the move [...]

Nigeria’s government has announced plans to ban same-sex marriage and any protests urging same-sex unions. Government officials have said the legislation is a preemptive step in light of other nations legalizing same-sex unions around the world. President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a vocal opponent of same-sex marriages in Africa . BBC News has more.

Leading Thursday's environmental law news, Maine has became the first state in the US to require manufacturers to pay the cost of recycling computer monitors and televisions under a program that began Wednesday pursuant to Maine's amended E-Waste Law . The state has approved 5 consolidation centers that will sort through the materials and bill [...]

The International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE) released its report on the December 15 parliamentary elections Thursday, endorsing the election results despite finding isolated instances of fraud. The IMIE, a 10-nation oversight group led by Elections Canada, agreed to review results in the wake of widespread Sunni protests over alleged voting fraud . The IMIE [...]

US Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced during a speech at the Georgetown University Law Center Thursday that he intends to vote against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, citing Alito's expansive views on presidential power. "Based on his record, I'm concerned that Judge Alito will not be [...]

Carla Del Ponte Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said Thursday that former Serbian general and indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic is still being shielded from authorities by the Serbian army he once commanded, and has not fled to Russia as alleged in a Wednesday Moscow Times report . [...]

The US military said Thursday that the number of detainees participating in hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay had reached its lowest point since October 2005, but offered no reasons for the dropoff. The number of hunger strikes has dropped from as many as 131 to only 22 prisoners with 17 of those receiving nourishment via [...]