The EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights , a legal panel appointed by the European Commission, has warned that a agreement , drawn up in 2003, between the Vatican and Slovakia that allows Catholic hospitals in Slovakia to refuse to perform controversial treatments such as abortions may be in violation of its obligations [...]

An Afghanistan prison is undergoing improvements to accommodate about 100 Afghan Guantanamo Bay detainees who are expected to be transferred to Afghanistan in the near future, according to Afghan officials. Construction, being paid for by the US, is underway on Afghanistan's largest prison to enhance security and living conditions. The US reached an agreement with [...]

The Inspector General , the internal watchdog of the US Department of Justice , concluded on Friday that the FBI did not misuse the Patriot Act but instead blamed the FBI for "sloppy work" when it wrongly linked an Oregon lawyer to the 2004 Madrid train bombings . Brandon Mayfield was arrested in May 2004 [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday upheld the 2004 conviction of Martha Stewart for lying to federal investigators in connection with her sale of ImClone stock. Stewart filed an appeal after being sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest, both of which she has completed [...]

Letter to the US Senate Judiciary Committee leadership on the Alito nomination, January 5, 2006 . Excerpt: Analyses show that in close cases — the kinds of cases the Supreme Court reviews — Judge Alito consistently takes positions that devalue individual rights and protections. And despite the president's pledge to nominate someone who embraces the [...]

The Public Prosecutor's office in the Netherlands filed an appeal on Friday against the acquittal of Dutch businessman Frans Van Anraat on charges of complicity in genocide by Saddam Hussein . In December, the court sentenced Van Anraat to the maximum term of 15 years in prison for complicity in war crimes for selling chemicals [...]

Japan has declined to join fellow G-4 nations Brazil, Germany and India in their proposal to expand membership in the UN Security Council from 15 to 25 member nations, adding six permanent members and six non-permanent members, and will instead develop a different proposal with US advice . Japan joined Brazil's 2004 bid to expand [...]

A Chilean judge said Friday that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori should be held indefinitely until Chile evaluates an extradition request from Peru, rejecting a defense request to free Fujimori on bail. The former leader had been living in exile in Japan until he arrived and was arrested in Chile two months ago. He returned [...]

US District Judge Sim Lake on Thursday sentenced former Dynegy executive Gene Shannon Foster to 15 months in jail, and former accountant Helen Sharkey received a 30-day sentence for helping co-defendant James Olis defraud investors of over $500 million. Olis, another former executive, received an unprecedented 24-year sentence which was rejected by the Fifth Circuit [...]

Democrats on the US Senate Judiciary Committee have said they plan to call witnesses to question the integrity of US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during confirmation hearings. The witness list includes experts on constitutional law and civil rights, but will also include John Flym, who argued a 2002 case before the US Court of [...]