Citing "information… that made me question Mr. Ross's competency," the attorney hired by convicted serial rapist and murderer Michael Ross to expedite his execution filed a motion Monday to delay what would be New England's first execution in 45 years. The attorney, T.J. Paulding, said in his motion that psychiatrist Michael Norko, who previously declared [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Monday sentenced former Yugoslav general Pavle Strugar to eight years in prison for his role in the 1991 shelling of Dubrovnik , the historic Croatian city that UNESCO had declared a World Cultural Heritage site. Strugar, who commanded Yugoslav forces during the 1991 siege, was found guilty [...]

US District Judge Joyce Hens Green has ruled that the Guantanamo military tribunals for terror suspects are unconstitutional, and that Guantanamo prisoners have constitutional protections under the law. Judge Green said that the eleven plaintiff before her in a co-ordinated habeas proceedings had valid Fifth Amendment claims and that the proceedings conducted by Combatant Status [...]

Tens of thousands of Israeli settlers gathered in Jerusalem Sunday evening at the start of a scheduled 24-hour protest against a plan by Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon to remove all 21 Israeli settlements from Gaza and four smaller settlements from the West Bank this summer. The settlers, organized by the Yesha Settlers Council are [...]

The trial to determine responsibility for the massive 1999 fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel , which runs between Italy and France, opened today in France. The fire, which killed 39 people and burned for more than 2 days, is believed to have been started by a truck carrying flour and margarine. Two hundred plaintiffs [...]

Israeli officials have told the US that Israel will reexamine the cases of Palestinians in East Jerusalem whose land was seized by Israel due to the building of the security fence . The US had expressed concern over the seizure of the land by local officials, in part because of the current attempts by the [...]

Speaking in Nigeria Sunday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the UN Security Council to consider sanctions against Sudan for "gross violations of human rights". Annan cited a UN report, due to be released this week, that found that "serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights have taken place." The report [...]

The deputy head of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq Monday revised upwards the latest estimate of turnout in Sunday's Iraq elections, telling AFP that "We still don't have a final number but we can say it was better than expected. The final percentage could be between 60 and 75 percent." Late Sunday Baghdad time [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, Jan. 31. On Capitol Hill, the US Senate will convene for regular business at 1 PM ET today and will consider the nomination of Samuel Bodman for secretary of energy. Watch a live webcast via C-SPAN. Tennessee Gov. Phil [...]

Preliminary Assessments of January 30 Election Process, International Mission for Iraqi Elections , January 30, 2005 . Excerpt: The absence of deadlines for resolutions on claims and complaints by the electoral authorities, notification to political entities and candidates of decisions on certification, announcement of preliminary electoral results and publication of official results is a matter [...]