The Massachusetts House of Representatives Thursday passed a stem cell research bill 117-37, such a wide margin that it cannot be vetoed by Republican Governor Mitt Romney. The controversial legislation authorizes reproduction of embryonic stem cells, which Romney had publicly condemned as "radical cloning" . The bill had previously passed the state Senate by a [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Friday, April 1. The US Senate and US House are in recess until April 4. The American Society of International Law is presenting a speech by US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the use of a comparative approach [...]

Resolution 1593 (2005), UN Security Council, March 31 2005 . Read the full text of the resolution, with explanatory statements from delegations. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Following a marathon UN Security Council session ending late Thursday evening, the US abstained from voting on a draft resolution authorizing the International Criminal Court to prosecute war crimes cases in Darfur, Sudan . The French-sponsored resolution passed with 11 Security Council members voting in favor and 3 other members (Algeria, Brazil and China) joining [...]

Gosselin, et al. v. Attorney General of Quebec, Supreme Court of Canada, March 31, 2005 . Read the full text of the judgment here. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Department of Justice announced Thursday that Sandy Berger , former national security advisor in the Clinton administration, will plead guilty to charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material. Berger is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday, facing the possibility of a year in jail and $100,000 in fines. Berger has [...]

Report, Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the US regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, March 31, 2005 . Excerpt: On the brink of war, and in front of the whole world, the United States government asserted that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program, had biological weapons and mobile biological weapon production facilities, and [...]

The International Criminal Court is investigating possible human rights violations during Colombia's 40 year civil war , and has asked the Colombian government for its help. According to ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno , indicators point to upwards of 1,000 casualties, kidnappings and displacements in Columbia since late 2002. The Colombian government has said it [...]

In the wake of Wednesday's second interim report of the UN's Independent Inquiry Committee into the Oil-for-Food Program chaired by former Federal Reserve head Paul Volcker, the UN has issued a charge letter to Under-Secretary-General Dileep Nair , head of the UN's Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), alleging improper use of funds. The IIC [...]

Civil rights activist Fred Korematsu has died at daughter's home in California. The American-born son of Japanese immigrants who passed away Wednesday is best remembered for defiantly refusing to voluntarily submit himself to US internment camps during World War II. His conviction for violating the order to surrender to officials was upheld by the US [...]