Leading Wednesday's environmental law news, Canadian Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice announced a new plan to improve drinking water in "First Nation communities," i.e., Indian reservations. The plan includes mandatory training for treatment plant operators and standards for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of First Nation community water systems. The Canadian Press has [...]

British Judge Advocate John Bayliss ruled Wednesday that Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first British officer to face criminal charges after challenging the conflict's legality will face a court-martial on five charges of failing to comply with a lawful order. Kendall-Smith , a medical officer who had served twice in southern Iraq [...]

The British government said Wednesday it would take up the case of one British resident currently held by the US at Guantanamo Bay , but stood by its decision not to intervene on behalf of five others. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) announced it would help Iraqi-born Bisher al-Rawi the same day as [...]

Consumer protection organization Public Citizen Tuesday filed suit in federal court in Washington, DC, challenging the constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 , which cuts approximately $39 billion in federal programs. In its suit, Public Citizen alleges that the version of the bill signed by the President was passed by the US Senate, [...]

The government of Afghanistan said Wednesday that a court would rule on whether Abdul Rahman, accused of converting to Christianity, will face the death penalty for his conversion. Under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital offense. The case against him has shocked many members of the international community, including the US , and has prompted [...]

Chilean Judge Victor Montiglio on Tuesday announced indictments and ordered the arrests of 13 retired Chilean military officers accused of directly participating in the Caravan of Death , one of the most notorious events during the reign of former dictator Augusto Pinochet . The Caravan of Death occurred in the month following Pinochet's Semptember 1973 [...]

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday held that a police search of a couple's home, where one resident gave permission for the search but the other resident "unequivocally refused to give consent", is unconstitutional as to the resident who refused consent. The Court considered an appeal in Georgia v. Randolph , 04-1067, a case which [...]

As preparations continue to establish a tribunal to prosecute those accused of killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri , UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday said that a mixed tribunal, with both international and Lebanese participation, is necessary to ensure that justice is done in the case. He noted particularly that Hariri's murder has [...]

The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Tuesday voted down a bill that would have broadened the right to use deadly force in self defense when in public by a margin of 194-138. The State Senate approved a similar proposal, to remove the requirement that a person retreat and refrain from using deadly force when [...]

Russian diplomat Konstantin Dolgov has requested a UN briefing on conditions in UN detention facilities following the recent deaths of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Croatian Serb Milan Babic . Dolgov also asked Tuesday for information from UN officials on the state of an investigation into both deaths. Earlier this week, the court-appointed advocates [...]