International Courts/Tribunals

Vatican Publishes Medieval Trial Docs

Documents from controversial trials 700 years ago that still fascinate many today are to be published by the Vatican later this month in a limited, leather-bound edition of 799 numbered copies. It features reproductions of handwritten parchment minutes of trials between 1307 and 1312 of members of the Knights Templar,…

Oct 12, 2007 5:31 PM CDT

Record $102 M in McCartney Divorce?

A rumored $102 million settlement to be paid by Paul McCartney to end his five-year marriage to Heather Mills would be the largest ever in a contested divorce case in the British courts, which have been trending toward bigger American-style awards in recent years. The British press estimates the former…

Oct 11, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Mom Supplied Pot to Keep Kids Off Street

Concerned about obvious risks when she found out her teenage children were using marijuana, Nicola Cooper called a family meeting. Then the self-described “liberal parent” decided to act to protect them from street drug-dealers by supplying them with pot herself. “Some people give their children alcohol and cigarettes at an…

Oct 10, 2007 5:58 PM CDT

EU Tiptoes Toward Mass Torts

Class actions as we know them in the U.S. are virtually unheard of in Europe, and corporations located in the EU would like to keep it that way. Hence, a proposal by the European Commission to allow individuals to hold EU corporations accountable in court for price-fixing and defective products,…

Oct 10, 2007 12:21 AM CDT

Inquest: Did Royal Family Kill Diana?

After fighting a lengthy legal battle to force a British inquest into the death a decade ago of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash, Harrods department store magnate Mohammed al-Fayed is going to have his day in court. An inquest began today in London’s High Court with the judge’s…

Oct 2, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

EU v US in $100 Billion Landmark WTO Case

The United States reportedly could be required to pay the European Union and other World Trade Organization partners as much as $100 billion in damages, due to federal legislation last year that increased restrictions on Internet gambling. But an unnamed U.S. trade official pooh-poohed this contention, calling the damages being…

Sep 27, 2007 10:24 PM CDT

EU Court: No In-House Counsel Privilege

Highlighting the differences between American law practice and international law practice, the second-highest court in the European Union ruled today that attorney-client privilege does not apply to communications between companies and their in-house counsel. Contending that attorney-client privilege applied, a Dutch chemical company and lawyers’ groups had sought to exclude…

Sep 17, 2007 11:42 PM CDT

‘TB Lawyer’ Fights to Regain Practice

Less than six months ago, life seemed good for Andrew H. Speaker, even though he’d been diagnosed with tuberculosis. The young personal injury lawyer was getting married, and about to start his own practice in Atlanta. Then he became the subject of international disapprobation for allegedly endangering others by taking…

Sep 10, 2007 10:17 PM CDT

Client’s YouTube Lawyer Video Banned

A disgruntled client can’t post video clips on YouTube complaining about his lawyer’s allegedly bad work and big bills, a Canadian judge has ruled. Superior Court Justice William Jenkins also said that client Stan Hall can’t post any further videos about lawyer Paul Ledroit without court permission, reports the London…

Sep 10, 2007 9:45 PM CDT

Court OKs Sleeping Judge at Jury Trial

Saying that a jury trial requires a judge’s physical presence rather than his attention, a divided Australian appeals court panel decided that a slumbering judge did not require retrial of two men convicted on drug charges. Each was sentenced to more than a decade in prison. The judge, who suffered…

Sep 6, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

Canadian Cleared in 1959 Murder

Concluding a case that has fascinated Canadians for decades, an Ontario appeals court yesterday acquitted Steven Truscott of a 48-year-old crime that originally resulted in a death sentence for him as a teenager. Sentenced at age 14 in 1959 to death by hanging for the rape and murder of a…

Aug 29, 2007 10:56 PM CDT

Japanese Justice System May Change

Criticized for its almost 100 percent conviction rate, Japan’s legal system is in need of an overhaul, many believe. Among the critics is the country’s bar association, which condemned the execution of three inmates last week and called for a death penalty moratorium until the fairness of the justice system…

Aug 27, 2007 9:52 PM CDT

Watch Out, UK Wireless Thieves

Those who see nothing wrong with piggybacking on someone else’s wireless Internet service may want to think twice about doing so in and around London. British authorities have arrested a 39-year-old man seen using his laptop on the street, charging him with what the London Times describes as suspicion of…

Aug 23, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

Lohan Case Fizzles, But Bill Murray Comes to Fore

Despite dire predictions of a possible jail sentence after Lindsay Lohan was arrested for allegedly drinking and driving on a suspended license last month, the 21-year-old actress reportedly may not even face any felony charges. A decision hasn’t yet been announced, but Lohan—who reportedly may have been found with cocaine,…

Aug 22, 2007 10:18 PM CDT

Lawyer Helps Free Ex-Classmate

A lawyer from DLA Piper in Washington, D.C., has helped free a former Harvard classmate from a Chinese prison. Jared Genser works on behalf of imprisoned dissidents through a boutique law firm he founded called Freedom Now, American Lawyer reports. Thanks in large part to his efforts, the man who…

Aug 21, 2007 12:11 PM CDT