The Bush administration asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit late Wednesday to expeditiously decide whether Guantanamo detainees can challenge their confinement in court. Two district court judges recently issued conflicting rulings on the question. In a 75-page opinion , US District Judge Joyce Hens Green declined late last month to throw [...]

For the first time publicly, North Korea acknowledged Thursday that it has nuclear weapons, and said it has pulled out of a six-nation negotiation aimed at persuading the communist country to abandon its nuclear ambitions. In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency the North Korean Foreign Ministry said: "We had already [...]

The White House gave approval late on Wednesday to the REAL ID Act , a House bill which would prevent immigrants from being able to use state driver's license to board airplanes and entering federal buildings. The bill would also make it easier for judges to deport those seeking political asylum. The Bush administration qualified [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, Feb. 10. The US Senate convenes this morning at 9:30 AM ET, and it will continue debate on S. 5 , the Class Action Bill. Watch a live webcast of the session via C-SPAN 2. The Senate Judiciary Committee [...]

European Union Bill, as approved at second reading by the UK House of Commons, February 9, 2005 . Review the full text . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Lawyers for Omar Khadr , an 18-year old Canadian citizen and Guantanamo Bay detainee, said Wednesday that their client had been tortured and abused by US interrogators. Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US medic while he was alledgedly fighting with the Taliban, planting mines in the way of US convoys, [...]

UK lawmakers Wednesday backed a government bill to put the new EU constitution to a national referendum. The European Union Bill will now go to a House of Commons committee for further study. While signed last November, the European constitution must still be ratified by all member states before taking effect. The new constitution would [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) announced late Wednesday that the trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has been postponed again until Monday, February 14. Milosevic is still recovering from a bout of influenza that had caused a previous delay and complained of a temperature during Wednesday's hearing. His trial, which [...]

The French National Assembly voted Wednesday in favor of a proposal that will allow private sector employees to work up to 48 hours a week, despite last weekend's demonstration by 300,000 French workers in protest of the work week bill . The bill will now go before the French Senate , which must approve it [...]

In Wednesday's environmental law news, USDA Secretary Mike Johanns has announced that he is delaying the effective date for the lifting of the ban on beef and cattle imports from Canada. The ban was scheduled to be lifted on March 7. Johanns met with Canadian Agriculture Minister Andrew Mitchell, and they also issued a joint [...]