[JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Tuesday ruled [opinion, PDF; press release, PDF] that it has jurisdiction to hear a case [ICJ materials] brought by Croatia [JURIST news archive] accusing Serbia [JURIST news archive] of genocide during the Croatian War from

[JURIST] Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis [official profile] on Tuesday called [statement text; AKI report] on officials to end discrimination against Europe's Roma minority [JURIST news archive]. Davis' comments came in response to a Monday confrontation [BBC report] between Czech

[JURIST] Two alleged Bosnian war criminals were arrested [Reuters report] Tuesday on orders from the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website]. Radivoje Lalovic and Soniboj Skiljevic are charged with war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 siege of Sarajevo [UN backgrounder],

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] on Tuesday lifted a suspension [press release; AFP report] imposed on the trial of Congolese ex-militia leader Thomas Lubanga [ICC materials; BBC profile] after prosecutors in the case agreed to share [filing, PDF] as-yet

[JURIST] Iraqi human rights activists are concerned about the treatment of detainees due to be transferred from US military custody to Iraqi authorities under the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) [CFR materials; LA Times Q/A], according to an IRIN report [text] Monday. The pact, approved

[JURIST] UN envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura praised [press release; UN News Centre report] the country's new Independent High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) on Monday, calling it a "milestone" for human rights in the region. The IHCHR was instituted on Sunday by the Iraqi Council of

[JURIST] The UK's former senior law lord Thomas Bingham [Times profile] on Monday criticized [press release] official UK legal justifications given for the 2003 US and UK invasion of Iraq, saying it was "a serious violation of international law and of the rule of law." Bingham focused [BBC report]

[JURIST] An Irish Times poll [report] published Monday suggests that 52.5 percent of Irish voters would approve the Treaty of Lisbon [text; EU backgrounder] if it were modified so that Ireland kept a European Union (EU) [official website] Commissioner and clarified Irish concerns over neutrality,

[JURIST] German prosecutors announced Monday that they will extradite an aide to Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official website] to France on Wednesday in connection with the 1994 assassination [NYT report] of then-Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarima that led to the Rwanda genocide [HRW

[JURIST] Officials from the Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) [official website] on Monday announced [press release] that the CA will finish drafting the country's new constitution within 18 months. According to a unanimously approved timetable, the CA will approve the final version of the

[JURIST] Philippines bar leaders, retired judges, attorneys, law schools and business leaders Monday formed [Philippine Daily Inquirer report] an unofficial judicial oversight group dedicated to providing transparency in the selection of seven justices to the Supreme Court of the Philippines in

The comparisons are eerily similar.

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican lawmaker convicted on felony corruption charges in October, was defeated in his bid for re-election by Democrat Mark Begich, according to a release from Begich's campaign and unofficial results from state officials.

President-elect Barack Obama has picked Peter Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, to head his Office of Management and Budget, a top Democratic source told CNN Tuesday.

Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman managed to keep his Senate committee chairmanship in part because President-elect Barack Obama didn't want to punish him for supporting Sen. John McCain, Lieberman said Tuesday.

Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday.

[JURIST] The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention [official website] said [UN press release] Monday after an official visit to Italy that it has "significant human rights concerns" about the facilities where Italy holds irregular migrants and asylum seekers detained on suspicion of criminal

Lawmakers challenged Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on his handling of the $700 billion bank bailout program and stressed the importance of doing more to help homeowners.

Two weeks after losing his bid for the presidency in an electoral landslide, Sen. John McCain is beginning the thorny transition back to life out of the spotlight as he weighs his future role in the Senate.

More than a week after voters in California, Arizona and Florida passed ballot initiatives outlawing same-sex marriage, thousands of people across the country protested the bans in simultaneous rallies Saturday. In California, Proposition 8 overturned a May ruling by the California Supreme Court that struck down a 2000 ban on same-sex unions. It passed 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. CNN's D.L. Hughley spoke to sex columnist Dan Savage about the ongoing battle to legalize same-sex marriage in California. Savage is the author of the popular syndicated sex advice column "Savage Love."