Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday defended his use of criminal defamation lawsuits to silence critics of his ruling Cambodian People's Party , claiming the lawsuits were in response to unjust accusations. The US and other countries have voiced opposition to the arrests for defamation of Kem Sokha, director of the Cambodian Center for [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee enters its third day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito Wednesday morning with more questions scheduled from senators. On Tuesday, Alito parried questions on abortion and wiretaps , facing a stiff interrogation from Sen. Edward Kennedy on executive power. Saying that Alito's record indicated he had [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Kairys of Temple University School of Law says that Judge Samuel Alito's answers to senators' questions on the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings reflect the views of a jurist who favors the wishes of government, corporations and the powerful over freedom, liberty and the rights of individuals… Questioning [...]

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Tuesday that a records search conducted by the British government seeking US rendition requests has found three instances where the Clinton administration sought permission to transport prisoners through its airspace. The report comes after a government statement in December claimed that the UK had no records of requests made [...]

Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, signed by President George W. Bush, Janaury 10, 2005. Read the full text of the Act . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

On NSA Spying: A Letter to Congress, January 9, 2006 . Read the full text of the letter as published in the New York Review of Books .

President Bush Tuesday signed into law a renewal of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 , providing $361 million over two years towards to investigation and prosecution of human trafficking cases, most involving the sex trade. The US Justice Department reported last year that it has prosecuted 271 human trafficking cases since the original [...]

One day before hearings resume before military commissions at Guantanamo Bay in the cases of two alleged terrorists, chief US prosecutor Col. Moe Davis Tuesday characterized defendant Omar Khadr , a Canadian citizen who was 15 years old at the time of his arrest, as a seasoned terrorist undeserving of special protection as a minor. [...]

US v. Georgia, Supreme Court of the United States, January 10, 2006 . Read the Court's opinion per Justice Scalia and Justice Stevens'concurrence. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Three ethnic Chechens charged with the murder of US journalist Paul Klebnikov pleaded not guilty Tuesday during a closed hearing in a Moscow court on the first day of their trial. Observers expect an emotional and time-consuming proceeding unfolding in coming months – the Russian government has written a 600-page case and expects to call [...]