International Courts/Tribunals

As Incomes Dive, Finance Wizards & Others Seek Divorce Modifications

In better times, Brian Myerson had no problem with paying his wife of 26 years a lump-sum divorce settlement of about $16 million. But now the former CEO of Principle Capital Holdings SA is asking a United Kingdom appeals court to cut the settlement to match his current financial situation,…

Mar 31, 2009 5:36 PM CDT

China Closes Yitong Law Firm Known for Legal Activism

A Beijing law firm known for its activist approach to human rights issues and official corruption was closed down by the Chinese government this week. Although the asserted reason for shutting down the Yitong Law Firm for six months was that it had allowed a lawyer to practice without a…

Mar 19, 2009 5:58 PM CDT

British Lord Gets 12 Weeks for Text-Messaging Behind the Wheel

A member of the British House of Lords has been given a 12-week jail term for dangerous driving after sending text-messages while behind the wheel. Although a solicitor for Lord Nazir Ahmed, 51, says he will appeal the sentence, the peer was sent straight to jail today after a judge…

Feb 25, 2009 8:22 PM CST

Legal: Speedo LZR Racer; Not: Alleged Target Version of ‘Foxers’ Line?

In the hotly contested world of competitive sports, high-tech materials and innovative designs can shave critical seconds off an athlete’s time. So use of certain equipment, such as the Speedo LZR Racer suit many consider state-of-the-art, has been hotly debated in the governing bodies of various sports, and even the…

Feb 21, 2009 1:24 AM CST

US Clients of UBS Mull Options as Feds Press Swiss Bank to Name More Names

Contending that a Swiss bank’s plan to name client names to U.S. regulators as part of a $780 million settlement of a criminal tax probe violates Switzerland law requiring secrecy, American depositors are mulling their options. Attorney Andreas Rued of the Rued Winkler law firm in Zurich said unnamed UBS…

Feb 19, 2009 6:53 PM CST

2 US Couples Jailed in Egypt Over Alleged Baby-Buying

In the United States, it is common for adults to adopt children who aren’t their own biological offspring and give them their name, not infrequently traveling abroad to do so. But it’s not only unusual but illegal in Egypt, which prohibits adoption by foreigners. Unfamiliar with the law there, a…

Feb 18, 2009 9:32 PM CST

Failed US-Led Drug War Harms Foreign Judicial Systems, Report Says

Escalating violence in Mexico and Latin America from a failed U.S.-led war on drugs is putting democratic governments and their judicial systems and police forces at risk, says a report by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy. Headed by three former Latin American heads of state, the group…

Feb 13, 2009 12:42 AM CST

French to Trade Immigration Tips for Legal Residency Permits

In an unusual approach to a crime problem that may be of interest elsewhere, a French official has signed a decree rewarding illegal immigrants who agree to serve as witnesses about immigration-related criminal conduct with residency permits good for as long as 10 years. After police questioning, explains French Immigration…

Feb 10, 2009 12:44 AM CST

Identical Twin Escapes Gallows in Real-Life Prisoner’s Dilemma

In a rare real-life, high-stakes demonstration of the prisoner’s dilemma—two suspects can both escape consequences, but only by trusting each other not to snitch to authorities—a judge in Malaysia has freed a man facing the gallows in a drug-trafficking case. That’s because, due to a police error, no one but…

Feb 9, 2009 8:20 PM CST

Grad Student Threatens to Sue Over Destruction of Rare Lizard Dung

Offered $750 in compensation and an apology after Leeds University mistakenly discarded an unmarked bag full of 75 pounds or so of rare lizard dung during an office cleanout, a graduate student isn’t buying. Daniel Bennett plans to sue over the loss of the collection, which he had put together…

Feb 6, 2009 6:41 PM CST

New Protests Planned in Pakistan Over Appellate Judges’ Ouster in 2007

About half of the approximately 60 appellate judges removed from office in Pakistan more than a year ago by former President Pervez Musharraf have been restored to the bench. Among those who have not: the former chief justice of the country’s supreme court, Iftikhar Chaudhry. And, in a reprise of…

Jan 28, 2009 7:23 PM CST

Top Peru Court: You Can’t Fire Him, He’s Drunk!

In a decision criticized as a dangerous precedent, the top court in Peru has decided that on-the-job intoxication isn’t necessarily sufficient cause for immediate termination. Janitor Pablo Cayo must be reinstated by the municipality of Chorrillos, the Constitutional Tribunal ordered, and Justice Fernando Calle explained yesterday that the court considered…

Jan 15, 2009 9:21 PM CST

LAPD Accuses Dead Japanese Exec in 2nd Murder Case

Closing a second murder case tied to the same Japanese businessman, Los Angeles police plan to announce today that former company president Kazuyoshi Miura is the prime suspect in the 1979 murder of 34-year-old dental receptionist Chizuko Shiraishi. That concludes the case, because Miura, who was also accused of being…

Jan 14, 2009 10:19 PM CST

Landmark UK Case: Law Firms Can Require Partners to Retire at 65

In a much-watched age discrimination case that is expected to be the basis of law firm retirement policies throughout the United Kingdom, a appellate tribunal has ruled that partners can be forced to retire at a specific age. Although the landmark ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal does not finally…

Jan 5, 2009 7:36 PM CST

Ex-Law Student Led Battle Against Prevalent Sexual Harassment in Eqypt

Despite a conservative culture based on Islamic law, sexual harassment is prevalent in Eqypt. And women there, who have been reluctant to pursue criminal complaints in a society that makes it difficult for them to do so, are starting to fight back, reports the Los Angeles Times. A 27-year-old former…

Dec 17, 2008 8:58 PM CST