US Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers Tuesday submitted her responses to written questions posed by the Senate Judiciary Committee , revealing past support for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother. Responding to a 1989 survey of Dallas city council candidates, Miers indicated that she would actively [...]

The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday shows more than two-thirds of the 159 countries surveyed scored less than 5 on a scale of zero to ten, indicating serious levels of corruption. The index is a survey of business people and analysts and is widely watched in the international community, especially in the context [...]

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed the largest criminal tax case ever Monday against 19 defendants formerly employed by accounting firm KPMG . The revised indictment replaces an indictment filed against 9 defendants in August and accuses 17 former KPMG executives, a lawyer, and an investment advisor, with attempting to defraud the IRS through fraudulent tax [...]

Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler presented a nine-member advisory committee Monday with the names of six potential candidates for the Supreme Court of Canada . Unlike the US system where politicians publicly question Supreme Court nominees, the Canadian candidates' names remain confidential to all except the nine members of the panel. The panel has until [...]

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari complained to reporters Monday about the delay in bringing Saddam Hussein to trial, but denied trying to encourage the Iraqi Special Tribunal JURIST to speed up its processes. Al-Jaafari said, "Any more delay will bring Iraq, the judiciary and the government into question. It's the right of every Iraqi citizen [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called on the government of Burundi to recognize more than 3,000 Rwandan refugees as asylum seekers, allowing them to stay in the country. Since March, nearly 8,000 Rwandans, primarily Hutus, have fled their homes in fear of prosecution by grassroots gacaca courts which are trying suspects for their [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Michael Kelly of Creighton University School of Law says that although Saddam Hussein's defense may argue that he's immune from prosecution as either a present or previous head of state, it's likely the argument will fail… Saddam Hussein will be brought to justice this week for the brutal murders of 143 Shi’ite [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Lawrence Douglas, Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College, says that the trial of Saddam Hussein must not only do justice, but show that justice is done, and wonders whether the relatively-inexperienced jurists of the Iraqi tribunal will be up to the task… How much better a trial before [...]

The Israeli Supreme Court has authorized the construction of the West Bank security fence across Palestinian land. Last month, the Court ruled that Israel had a right to construct the barrier to protect itself from potential terrorist attacks, but urged the rerouting of sections of the barrier in those areas which do not pose heightened [...]

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour Monday signed legislation to let the 13 hotel-casinos destroyed by Hurricane Katrina to be rebuilt 800 feet inland, despite opposition from religious conservatives. The law was approved in a special legislative session where the Mississippi Legislature convened to specifically work on the aftermath of the hurricane's devastation. The legislation was passed [...]