In the first ruling of its kind, the British High Court on Friday ruled that two British citizens accused of illegal file-sharing must pay damages for violating UK copyright laws. The suit brought by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is one of 139 actions brought by the trade group against individuals engaged in file sharing. [...]

US-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch , said Saturday that interference by Iraqi political groups may compromise the independence of the judges on the Iraqi High Criminal Court – formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal – conducting the Saddam Hussein trial . HRW claims the tribunal's judicial independence and even the fairness of its basic proceedings [...]

The US Department of Justice Friday announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested two employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency working in New Orleans in the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort under suspicion of taking bribes. According to the US Attorney's complaint, the two workers managed a base camp in the Algiers neighborhood [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Friday lifted a preliminary injunction by a lower federal court that had blocked a Kansas law requiring health care officials to report consensual sex by underage persons to government authorities. In a 2-1 decision, a three judge panel determined that the state's interest in enforcing criminal [...]

The effort by Democratic Senators John Kerry (D-MA) , Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and others to attempt a last-minute filibuster blocking the US Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito has been met with opposition from fellow Senate Democrats who fear the strategy might backfire and adversely affect Democratic candidates in the upcoming 2006 elections. Senate [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Kairys of Temple University School of Law says that the Senate should fully examine Judge Samuel Alito's views on race and gender discrimination – strangely shaped in the turmoil of the 1960s – before voting on cloture or confirmation… It can be baffling, even disturbing, to discover that the pivotal period [...]

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An act relating to the jurisdiction of the Washington human rights commission, Washington Senate, January 27, 2006 . Read the full text of the bill . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Memorandum for Record – Report of Violations of the Geneva Conventions and the International Laws of Land Warfare, US Department of Defense, June 10, 2004 . Read the full text of the memorandum . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The Washington State Senate on Friday passed a landmark gay civil rights bill that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, lending and employment. The legislation was approved by the House last week, but was amended in the Senate and must go back to the House for final approval, which is expected later [...]