The Iranian Judiciary Tuesday denied accusations by Nobel Prize winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi that it had harassed her and placed restrictions on her representation of political prisoners. A judiciary spokesman said that no restrictions were placed on Ebadi, and that Iranian citizens had a right to legal advice from lawyers, including Ebadi. Ebadi said Monday [...]

Leading Tuesday's corporations and securities law news, the judge in the trial of former Enron Chairman Ken Lay and ex-Chief Executive Jeff Skilling is asking defense attorneys and prosecutors for potential scheduling conflicts between June and September. The dates indicate the judge is eyeing a summer start for the trial. Defense attorneys are already citing [...]

The Russian Supreme Court Tuesday rejected a petition for the legalization of same-sex marriage. In its opinion, the court held that it could not alter the Russian Family Code to allow for same-sex marriages. The plaintiffs in the case filed for a marriage certificate in January in Moscow, but were rejected because same-sex marriages are [...]

The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will create an independent drug safety board, in response to criticism in the wake of the Vioxx recall. The FDA already has an Office of Drug Safety , but lawmakers have said it lacks sufficient independence and resources. The proposed board would include representatives from the [...]

President Bush Tuesday recalled the US ambassador in Syria amid rising tensions over the recent assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut. Syria quickly condemned the murder in a press release issued by its US embassy in Washington, but the White House has publicly criticized Syria's ongoing military presence in Lebanon. US [...]

In Tuesday's international brief, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Stuart Holliday introduced a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Monday proposing the creation of a 10,000 member peacekeeping force to be deployed to the Sudan . The proposal leaves the geographical deployment of the forces up to the UN Department of Peacekeeping [...]

The Japanese cabinet has approved a draft bill that would allow the Japanese defense minister to order the shooting-down of incoming missles without obtaining cabinet consent. The bill now goes to the country's parliament for a vote later this week. The legislation is seen as a response to concerns about the nuclear capabilities of North [...]

The Department of Justice is expected to file a brief this week urging the Supreme Court not to hear the appeal of 17 American pilots who were captured and abused by Iraqis during the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict. The POWs filed suit in federal court in 2002 under the 1996 Anti-Terrorism Act that allowed citizens [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has upheld a contempt ruling against two reporters who refused to disclose their sources to investigators looking into the leak of an undercover CIA agent's name to the press. The court concluded that no federal shield law exists for reporters seeking to protect sources' identities. Time [...]

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has conceded that claims by Mahdouh Habib , a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, that he was tortured while held in Egypt may be true. Downer, who made the comments during a radio interview Monday, was responding to an interview Habib gave over the weekend, in which he alleged that he [...]