Blackwater accused of trying to buy its way out of accountability

On November 11th, 2009, the New York Times reported that in December 2007, top executives at Blackwater (currently known as Xe) authorized cash payments up to $1 million to Iraqi officials with the intent to buy silence and support from the Iraqi government over the Nisour Square shootings on September 16th, 2007, in which 17 [...]

Court Refuses to Hold U.S. Officials Accountable for Complicity in Torture Abroad in Arar v. Ashcroft

A federal Court of Appeals dismissed Canadian citizen Maher Arar’s case against U.S. officials for their role in sending him to Syria to be tortured and interrogated for a year.The case was re-heard before twelve Second Circuit judges after a rare decision in August 2008 to rehear the case sua sponte, that is, of their [...]

Obama signs executive order strengthening intelligence oversight panel

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama signed an executive order Wednesday giving the Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB) the authority to report suspected violations of federal law related to intelligence gathering to the US attorney general. The order amends an executive order signed by former president George W. Bush last February, which allowed the IOB to report [...]

Project on Government Oversight issues new handbook

“The Art of Congressional Oversight: A User’s Guide to Doing It Right.”

New CRS reports and congressional hearings released

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (6 Oct. 2009)
Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa (2 Oct 2009)
Removing Aliens from the United States: Judicial Review of Removal Orders (25 September 2009)

The records of several noteworthy congressional hearings that were held in the past two years have been [...]

Abdelrazik sues Canada for its alleged role in his arrest and torture

Abdelrazik’s suit seeks 24 million Canadian dollars (22 million US) from Ottawa alleging the government’s involvement in his detention and torture, and three million dollars (2.76 million US) from Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon for “misfeasance in public office.”
It claims the foreign minister “deliberately and flagrantly violated (Abdelrazik’s) constitutional right to enter Canada, and his legal [...]

Interesting articles

Beth van Schaack – International Criminal Law & its Enforcement
This chapter, to appear in the 2nd edition of Beth Van Schaack & Ron Slye’s International Criminal Law & Its Enforcement (Foundation Press 2010), covers the crime of torture under international criminal law. It begins with a doctrinal discussion of the elements of torture as elucidated [...]

Federal Court denies CSIS request to get clarity on secrecy issues

Canada’s Federal Court ruled that key questions about what Canada’s spy service must reveal in court do not deserve another look. Federal lawyers last month chose to walk away from a key case – that of Adil Charkaoui, a Moroccan living in Montreal – rather than divulge information that they said could compromise national security. [...]

Bybee Avoids Judicial Complaint

(Scott Horton) The Ninth Circuit’s Judicial Council has turned back a complaint directed against Judge Bybee based on his key role in crafting torture policy. The decision, issued by Judge Alex Kozinski, did not deal with the merits of the accusations leveled against Bybee, or the claim that Bybee never would have been confirmed by [...]

Louisiana Court Battle Over Guantanamo Psychologist

Attorneys filed an appeal before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, in the case Dr. Trudy Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists this week. Toledo-based psychologist Dr. Trudy Bond is calling on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners to investigate Louisiana psychologist and retired U.S. Army colonel Dr. Larry C. James, [...]