Supporters of the International Court of Justice and international law have been mildly encouraged by showings of at least mild deference to the ICJ by most members of the US Supreme Court Court in its closely watched Medellin ruling on Monday. In Medellin, the Court dismissed the case after the International Court of Justice had [...]

Lawyers for Pfc. Lynndie England on Tuesday decided to forgo her right to challenge the seven charges she faces for her role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal . England defense attorney Capt. Jonathon Crisp did not elaborate on why he decided not to go forward with the Article 32 hearing , the military equivalent [...]

Six Pitcairn Island men, found guilty of multiple sexual abuse charges in October 2004 , have lost their appeal in the Pitcairn Supreme Court sitting in Auckland, New Zealand. The Court denied all of the defense's arguments, including a claim that British law did not apply to the descendants of the 18th-century Bounty mutineers who [...]

Upon reconsidering its former ban on reformist candidates, Iran's Guardian Council has now officially reinstated former higher education minister Mostafa Moin and incumbent Vice President Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh as candidates in the June 17 presidential elections. Moin, an outspoken reformist, has promised to tackle human rights abuses if elected. Mehr-Alizadeh, however, is not considered to be [...]

Memorandum of Understanding on Judicial Nominations, US Senate, May 23, 2005 . Excerpt: Signatories will exercise their responsibilities under the Advice and Consent Clause of the United States Constitution in good faith. Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether [...]

The US Senate Tuesday prepared to confirm Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Owen to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday following a bipartisan deal reached Monday night that avoided a showdown over judicial nominees and assured Owen the simple majority needed for a confirmation vote. Under the agreement, filibusters are to be used [...]

Spain's Interior Ministry Tuesday announced the arrests of three more suspects in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombing , al-Qaeda's deadliest attack on Europe. The three Moroccan men, Mourad Bhar, 20, Abdelkhalak Chergui, 29, and Abdelhak Chergui, 32, are suspected of providing arms and financing for the attack which killed 191 people and wounded [...]

Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association, Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Scalia, May 23, 2005 . Read the full text of the opinion here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Lingle v. Chevron USA, Supreme Court of the United States, Justice O'Connor, May 23, 2005 . Excerpt: For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the "substantially advances" formula announced in Agins is not a valid method of identifying regulatory takings for which the Fifth Amendment requires just compensation. Since Chevron argued only a "substantially advances" [...]

Medellin v. Dretke, Supreme Court of the United States, Per Curiam, May 23, 2005 . Excerpt: In light of the possibility that the Texas courts will provide Medellín with the review he seeks pursuant to the Avena judgment and the President's memorandum, and the potential for review in this Court once the Texas courts have [...]