The UK High Court Tuesday lifted an injunction preventing a man from helping his scik wife travel to Switzerland for an assisted suicide. Family Division judge Justice Hedley lifted the temporary injunction, but ruled that police held discretion on whether to take action against the couple, identified only as Mr. and Mrs. Z. Mrs. Z [...]

The Quebec Court of Appeal Tuesday began hearing an appeal challenging the constitutionality of Canada's 1997 Tobacco Act. Lawyers for Canada's three largest tobacco companies told the court that the law, which bans tobacco sponsorship, restricts advertising and requires large warnings on cigarette packs, effectively constitutes a total ban on advertising. In a 1995 decision, [...]

A spokesperson for opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko said Tuesday that Yushchenko is breaking off negotiations aimed at settling the political crisis that has arisen after Ukraine's presidential election. Current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych had offered to give Yushchenko the prime minister's post if he becomes president, but Yushchenko did not accept, saying he wants [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday unveiled new rules that give more time to more than 2,000 public companies struggling to compile reports on their safeguards against fraud and bad financial reporting. Smaller companies are having trouble meeting the reporting requirements mandated by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act , including the documentation of the [...]

In a decision handed down Tuesday morning, the US Supreme Court ruled that the damages cap of $1,000 on recoveries under the Truth in Lending Act remained unchanged when Congress changed other TILA terms in 1995. The case is Koons Buick Pontiac GMC v. Nigh (case backgrounder from Duke Law School). Cornell's Legal Information Institute [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced legislation Tuesday to the state Duma that would set a maximum service age for judges and justices of the peace at 70 years old. The stated goal of the legislation is to create uniformity in Russia's courts and to protect the independence of the judiciary. Itar-Tass has more…. Following up [...]

The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights and four Iraqi citizens will file a criminal complaint in Germany Tuesday against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and seven other high-ranking US officials, seeking to hold the officials accountable for acts of torture allegedly carried out at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. German courts recognize the doctrine of universal [...]

Prompted by opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian parliament debated the country's presidential poll crisis Tuesday, but did not adopt a motion of no-confidence in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who was also the winner of the disputed election. The speaker of parliament said the debate was getting too confrontational and adjourned the debate until [...]

A confidential report of the International Committee of the Red Cross charges the US military with intentionally using psychological and physical coercion "tantamount to torture" on Guantanamo Bay detainees, according to Tuesday's New York Times. The report also concludes that some doctors and other medical workers participated in planning for interrogations, which, according to the [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Tuesday, November 30. The US Supreme Court will hear 10 AM ET oral arguments in the consolidated cases of Whitfield v. United States and Hall v. United States (case summary from Duke Law School), where the court will decide whether [...]