International Law

ACLU Sues Boeing Subsidiary re U.S. Rendition Aid

A subsidiary of airline giant Boeing Co. has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for allegedly aiding “extraordinary rendition” efforts by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The suit, which the ACLU says it is filing today in federal court in California, claims Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. provided transportation for…

May 30, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

World’s First Publicly Owned Law Firm is Growing

A little more than a week after reportedly becoming the world’s first publicly owned law firm, Australia’s Slater & Gordon is already adding to its attorney roster. The growth move by the Melbourne-based personal injury firm, which is bringing into its fold a Brisbane boutique specializing in military compensation, follows…

May 30, 2007 12:08 PM CDT

Suspended Pakistani Chief Judge Files Affidavit

Suspended Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry filed an affidavit Tuesday which for the first time makes public his account of a March 9 meeting with the country’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. According to Chaudhry’s account, which was filed with the Pakistan Supreme Court, the president and senior officials detained…

May 30, 2007 11:42 AM CDT

Top Official gets Death Sentence for Bad Chinese Food

Even for China, the sentence is an unusually harsh one. In the wake of international scandals over contamination of food products shipped from China, the former head of the country’s top food and drug safety agency was sentenced to death today. Zheng Xiaoyu, 62, commissioner of China’s Food and Drug…

May 29, 2007 10:09 PM CDT

Pakistan Crisis: Lawyers Strike; Court Aide Shot

A worsening crisis in Pakistan over the country’s judicial independence reportedly included a nationwide strike by the legal community and general strikes that shut down major cities on Monday. Following violence over the weekend that each side blamed on the other, 2,500 lawyers rallied in Lahore against the government of…

May 14, 2007 4:19 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: Ellsberg Acquitted in Pentagon Case, Barbie Nazi War Crimes Trial Begins

On this day in 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed, due to government misconduct. (The administration of President Richard M. Nixon was implicated in a burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, in an effort to discredit him.) Ellsberg, a Pentagon employee, had released 7,000 pages…

May 11, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

U.S. Iraq Vets Make Asylum Case in Canada Court

Arguing that the U.S. war on Iraq is illegal, a Canadian lawyer is now seeking asylum there for some three dozen American soldiers who have deserted their units and fled to America’s northern neighbor. The situation may seem reminiscent of so-called draft dodgers going to Canada decades ago rather than…

May 10, 2007 1:11 AM CDT

High Court: Irish Teen has Right to UK Abortion

An Irish court has ruled that a pregnant 17-year-old who is in the care of the government has the right to travel to England for a legal abortion, as some 7,000 of Irish women do annually. Abortion is illegal in Ireland, except to save the life of the mother. Social…

May 10, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

Pakistan Protest: Gov’t Seals Top Atty’s Office

In the latest developments in a continuing lawyer-led protest in Pakistan, government officials closed the Karachi office of a top attorney representing a suspended Supreme Court judge whose recent motorcade from Islamabad to Lahore reportedly drew a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters. However, that closing on Wednesday by…

May 9, 2007 9:29 PM CDT

‘Gazumping’ Loophole Ups British Legal Fees

A quirk in English property law, combined with a super-hot housing market caused by a shortage of homes for sale in London, is costing would-be purchasers of homes there extra attorney fees. Because British law only makes real estate contracts final once they are actually exchanged, buyers are on the…

May 8, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

Groups: Israel Ignores Court, Abuses Prisoners

Despite a 1999 Israel Supreme Court ruling that bans the use of physical force during interrogations, the domestic security service there continues to mistreat and sometimes even torture prisoners, human rights groups say. In a report released Sunday, two groups contend that Palestinian detainees interrogated by Shin Bet are routinely…

May 7, 2007 6:46 PM CDT

Tens of Thousands Rally for Top Pakistan Jurist

In a continuation of previous protests, tens of thousands of Pakistanis reportedly rallied over the weekend in support of the nation’s top judge, who has been suspended by the country’s president. The jurist’s trip by automobile from Islamabad to Lahore normally takes around four hours but extended to 20 hours…

May 7, 2007 11:02 AM CDT

Possible Ruling: Chimp a ‘Person’ with Rights

In a case that could prove a persuasive precedent for other judges internationally, animal rights activists in Vienna are seeking a court ruling that a chimpanzee is legally a person. This would allow the chimp rights, such as having a legal guardian appointed, that are not available to nonpersons. Those…

May 4, 2007 8:59 PM CDT

U.S. Flip-Flop in Medellin Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by a Mexican national on death row who says he was not informed of his right to meet with consular officials. The United States has changed its position on whether courts here have to reopen cases in which defendants were…

May 1, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

First Woman on Canadian Supreme Court Dies

Bertha Wilson, who in 1982 became the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada, died Saturday after a long illness. She was 83. A progressive voice and a staunch proponent of human rights, Wilson wrote important opinions on abortion and battered spouse syndrome and was one of the…

May 1, 2007 11:04 AM CDT