Chilean President Ricardo Lagos announced Monday that the Chilean government will be offering lifelong pensions to individuals on a monthly basis that are almost equal to the minimum wage for the same period. The announcement follows the publication of the report of the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture (official site in Spanish), which [...]

AP is reporting that the US Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to last year's Massachusetts high court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Read the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health. 10:48 AM ET – The Supreme Court's Order List is now available here . The Court granted [...]

Reuters is reporting that the International Atomic Energy Agency has passed a resolution on policing Iran's promise to freeze all programs linked to uranium enrichment. The watered-down resolution welcomes Iran's suspension of sensitive nuclear activities as "a voluntary, non-legally binding, confidence-building measure." The IAEA has background on its negotiations with Iran. 11:19 AM ET – [...]

AP is reporting that the Ukrainian Supreme Court justices have said that the court will not reach a decision Monday on the validity of the presidential election results. 9:22 AM ET – The Ukrainian Supreme Court Monday heard opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko's appeal against the official poll results in Ukraine's presidential elections. Prime Minister Viktor [...]

JURIST Contibuting Editor Ali Khan of Washburn University School of Law says that the Bush administration's appointment of minority candidates to high-profile positions has made them the complicit and even enthisiastic instruments of political and legal policies as harmful as any espoused by white males. The Bush administration is making history in recruiting so many [...]

Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Monday, November 29. The US Supreme Court will hear 10 AM ET oral arguments in Ashcroft v. Raich (case summary from Duke Law School), where the Court will decide whether the Controlled Substances Act exceeds Congress' power under the Commerce [...]

Swiss voters approved a new law Sunday that will allow research on the stem cells of human embryos. Sunday's vote marks the first time a country has put the controversial issue to a popular vote. The Swiss law is stricter than in other European countries and will only allow research on cells from embryos less [...]

Thomas Kean, chair of the 9/11 Commission, said Sunday that the US will be at a greater risk of a terrorist attack if Congress continues to delay legislation that will implement the Commission's recommendations and overhaul the nation's intelligence services. Kean urged that Congress pass the legislation when it reconvenes next week rather than wait [...]

Opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko warned Sunday that Ukrainian authorities are considering declaring emergency law in an attempt to break up ongoing demonstrations in Kyiv's Independence Square. Addressing protestors, Yushchenko warned, "if any preparations for resolution by force come to light, we will break off negotiations immediately. Maidan News has more. According to a Maidan [...]

Iran has given up its demand to retain 20 uranium enrichment centrifuges, a move that had threatened to derail a draft nuclear disarmament put forward at the UN by the UK, Germany and France. Iran sent a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency Sunday, meeting a Monday deadline for a total halt to the [...]