The Court of Appeal in London Wednesday rejected a legal challenge from the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance arguing that the Hunting Act 2004 was invalid because the Parliament Act 1949 used to force it through the House of Lords last year was invalid. The ban on fox hunting with dogs has been the subject of much [...]

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, entered into force February 16, 2005. Read the full text of the Protocol . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Togolese Army General Seyi Memene has agreed to "return the country to constitutional order" following talks held Tuesday between Togo and ECOWAS representatives. Nigerian Foreign Minister Aichatou Mindaoudou said the talks yielded a good response and were very encouraging. No official details were released, but anonymous sources have said that a presidential election may be [...]

In a speech delivered to the National Press Club Tuesday, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson accused the federal judiciary of usurping legislative and executive power, called for the Senate leadership to force votes on President Bush's judicial nominations , and suggested that Democrats blocked those nominations at their electoral peril: Even as we opposed tyranny [...]

US officials have announced that six more Guantanamo Bay detainees will be released after military Combatant Status Review Tribunals determined that they are not "enemy combatants". The review panels, set up in response to last year's Supreme Court ruling that Gitmo prisoners had the right to challenge their indefinte detention, have now said that a [...]

The Kyoto Protocol takes legal effect Wednesday, 90 days after Russia ratified the treaty , providing the necessary number of ratifications for the treaty to come into force. Before becoming effective, the protocol, which aims to slow global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, required countries representing 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions to ratify [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Wednesday, Feb. 16. The US Senate convenes at 9:30 AM ET today, and it will consider S. 384, the Nazi War Crimes Working Group Extension Act. Watch a live webcast of proceedings. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is [...]

In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, Judith Miller, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Circuit Judge Sentelle, February 15, 2005 .Excerpt: e agree with the District Court that there is no First Amendment privilege protecting the evidence sought. We further conclude that if any such common law privilege exists, it is [...]

The US Senate late Tuesday afternoon approved the nomination of federal appeals judge Michael Chertoff as the new Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The vote, originally scheduled for last week, had been delayed while Senate Democrats unsuccessfully sought further information on an FBI internal memo written in 2004, after Chertoff had left the [...]

The European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that a merger between Tetra Laval and Sidel can proceed over the objections of the European Commission's antitrust office . The decision is one of the first setbacks to the EU's antitrust division and is expected to reduce its influence somewhat. In its opinion, the court said the [...]