Asia

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Plans Judicial Reforms

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, himself a former corporate lawyer and law professor, called for reform of the country’s judicial system at a Kremlin meeting today of judges and legal officials. He apparently anticipates revising Russia’s criminal and administrative code to deal with the issue of bribes and outside pressure that…

May 20, 2008 8:28 PM CDT

US Now Holding 500 Juveniles in Iraq; Was Holding 2,500

In a report to a United Nations committee, the United States says it is holding 500 juveniles, apparently in adult detention facilities, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2002, a total of some 2,500 have reportedly been detained as suspected “unlawful enemy combatants.” “A total of 2,500 youths under the age…

May 19, 2008 9:06 PM CDT

Pakistan Lawyers & Judges to Receive ABA Rule of Law Award

An ABA Rule of Law award will be given this year to “those lawyers and judges in Pakistan who demonstrated courage in upholding the rule of law in their country” in turbulent times. Lawyer-led protests have been at the forefront of efforts over the past year or so to return…

May 2, 2008 8:52 PM CDT

Ousted Pakistan Appellate Judges to be Restored to Office

An agreement reportedly has been reached among Pakistan’s new parliamentary leadership to restore to office all of the appellate judges removed last year by President Pervez Musharraf. As part of the pact, however, it was decided that Chief Judge Iftikhar Chaudhry of the country’s supreme court would be guaranteed only…

May 1, 2008 7:08 PM CDT

Lawyers in China Face Retaliation for Sensitive Cases, Report Says

Lawyers in China face increasing intimidation and harassment for taking politically sensitive cases, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. The report said some prominent lawyers have been detained or arrested for bringing cases that are viewed as challenges to the Communist Party, the Associated Press reports. Cases considered…

Apr 29, 2008 4:28 PM CDT

Now Outsourced to India: Debt Collection

Americans aren’t the only ones eagerly awaiting the Internal Revenue Service tax rebates expected to be in the mail to many U.S. residents by the end of May. A growing number of Indians working on the other side of the world as debt collectors are also focusing in on our…

Apr 23, 2008 10:44 PM CDT

American Pastor Gets 3-Yr Sentence in Moscow

An evangelical pastor and hunting enthusiast has been sentenced to three years in a Russian prison for illegally bringing a box of ammunition to the country. Phillip H. Miles of Christ Community Church in Conway, S.C., has been in jail since his arrest on Feb. 3 for failing to declare…

Apr 22, 2008 12:44 PM CDT

Sacked Pakistan Appellate Judges Could Be Restored to Office Soon

Updated: Dozens of Pakistan appellate judges removed from office in November by the country’s president could now be restored to their former seats by the end of April. Leaders of a new coalition government that has come to the fore after recent parliamentary elections say they plan to put the…

Apr 21, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

Lawyer Protests Spark Pakistan Violence; At Least 7 Killed

Lawyer protests in a major Pakistan city yesterday sparked widespread rioting there in which at least seven people were reportedly killed, offices were set ablaze and a bar association office was gutted. “Trouble broke out when attorneys—some supportive of the new government and others critical—clashed near the main courts complex…

Apr 10, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

Lawyers Attack Former Pakistan Official, Bar President Resigns in Protest

In the latest development in a series of extraordinary, lawyer-led protests in Pakistan over the past year, attorneys clad in black business suits were reportedly involved in a physical attack on a former cabinet minister. Although the victim, former parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi, was not seriously injured, Aitzaz…

Apr 8, 2008 11:27 PM CDT

Top Associate Pay Skyrockets 50% at Law Firms in India

Associate attorneys at major law firms in India are still paid far less than their American and British counterparts. But competition among international firms for top talent has sent their salaries shooting up by more than 50 percent in the past year. “Indian law school graduates can now earn around…

Apr 8, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Pakistan Judges Freed by New Prime Minister

In his first act as Pakistan’s new prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani today freed the country’s deposed supreme court chief justice and some 60 other jurists from the house arrest under which they have been held since November. “This is a historic moment, ushering in an era of democracy that…

Mar 24, 2008 8:36 PM CDT

Nixon Peabody Opens China Office

Already active in Chinese legal matters, Rochester, N.Y.-based Nixon Peabody has decided to open its first Chinese office. The Shanghai shop will be the 700-lawyer firm’s second international office (the first was in London), and its 18th office overall. For now, it will be staffed by rotating U.S. lawyers, but…

Mar 24, 2008 5:09 PM CDT

Snake’s Alive! India Law Firm Opens London Office

An Indian law firm has created a stir by opening an office in London. “FoxMandal Little has become the first major Indian law house to set up a practice in the U.K. and in the process created quite a splash in the local legal community,” reports the Economic Times. Hundreds…

Mar 17, 2008 3:52 PM CDT

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Freed, Warned About Speaking Out

A Chinese human rights lawyer is free after spending 41 hours in government custody. Teng Biao said officers from the Beijing Public Security Bureau warned him about recent articles he had posted on the Internet and told him he should not speak out, the New York Times reports. Teng said…

Mar 10, 2008 5:39 PM CDT