Manfred Nowak , the UN special investigator on torture, complained Thursday that the US was stalling on his request to visit detainees at Guantanamo . A US spokeswoman denied any delay, however, and put the lack of response to the mid-April request down to the request review process, which involves the White House, Congress, and [...]

Strengthening Transparency, Governance, Accountability; Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, June 22, 2005 . Excerpt: This report is a vital part of the charitable community's commitment to keeping the public trust. Developed with the input of nonprofit leaders, experts, and volunteers, it offers a comprehensive approach to strengthening accountability. Its recommendations are a carefully integrated package [...]

H.J. Res. 10, Proposing an amendment to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the US, approved by the US House of Representatives on June 22, 2005 . Read the full text of the amendment here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The independent Panel on the Nonprofit Sector released a report Wednesday recommending that Congress require charities to develop stricter policies on the disclosure of financial information by retaining external independent accountants, reveal more details on executive compensation, and complete government information returns. The panel also suggested that Congress request audits of charities reporting annual revenues [...]

Four countries seeking permanent representation on the UN Security Council – Japan, Brazil, India, and Germany – said Wednesday at a foreign ministry meeting in Brussels that they would request a July vote on their Security Council reform resolution . The countries, known collectively as the G-4, originally planned to call for a vote later [...]

The Colombian Congress passed a bill Wednesday which gives lesser punishments to paramilitary leaders who disarm, admit their crimes, compensate victims, and return stolen goods. The bill, announced last week , was approved after Colombian President Alvaro Uribe made it more stringent after a warning by US lawmakers that its impact would not be strict [...]

A young boy who claimed that Lionel Tate robbed a pizza delivery man at gunpoint in May "took back" his story Wednesday, which could mean freedom again for Tate, once the youngest American to receive a life prison sentence . Thirteen-year old Taquincy Tomkins said he had named Tate as the robber because he was [...]

Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC has announced that its five-member panel will vote again on a controversial rule requiring mutual funds to be overseen by independent chairmen. The announcement comes after a federal appeals court ruled that the SEC had not adequately investigated the cost of implementing the plan. The panel [...]

Leading Wednesday's states brief, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld the state's slot-machine gambling law . While rejecting some parts of the law, the court found that the process used by the legislature to enact the law was constitutional. Attorneys argued over constitutional provisions that say a bill cannot be amended to change its original [...]

A Pentagon report released Wednesday detailed troubling relgious insensitivity at the US Air Force Academy , but found no overt acts of religious discrimination. The Department of Defense investigated the constitutionality of certain religious practices and reports of religious intolerance at the elite Colorado Springs institution. The report nonetheless calls for more "operational guidance" as [...]