Children and Armed Conflict Unit On-line

URL: http://www2.essex.ac.uk/c&acu/
Based at the University of Essex, the Children and Armed Conflict Unit promotes awareness of human rights abuses and the effect of war and socio-economic upheaval on children. The site map is the most useful method of navigating the website, which contains world news, topical sections, and the text of international legal instruments. The user may search by country or conflict, retrieving reports, some from regional news agencies or NGOs such as Amnesty International, background information on the country including the constitution, links to news sources, and reports on human rights and current conflicts (not all pertaining to children). For a subject approach, go to "issues/ themes", which covers areas including child soldiers, girls, landmines, and refugees. Each section contains a summary of the issues and links to a variety of documents, from the UN, Human Rights Watch, news organizations, and links to country/region-specific articles and reports. The international law section contains UN human rights documents, documents of other bodies, e.g. the Council of Europe, the G8, and the Organization of American States, these further broken down into general and child-specific. The website is searchable by keyword via freefind.com, which can also perform an Internet search on the same subject. The array of material included on the website makes it clear that children's rights are vulnerable to economic and political trends, as well as war.

Council on Law in Higher Education

URL: http://clhe.org
The Council on Law in Higher Education is a non-profit organization focusing on legal issues in post-secondary institutions, geared towards university administrators. Topics covered in this low-key website are campus security and crime-reporting regulations; veterans' affairs; affirmative action; disability law; tax credits; First Amendment issues; student affairs and privacy; and athletics. Each section provides the text of federal legislation and regulations; court decisions; pending bills (e.g. the Fire Safe Dorm Act of 2000), Congressional and other reports, and relevant links.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc.

URL: http://www.dredf.org
A national law and policy center founded by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund Inc. engages in advocacy, litigation, education, and training in support of the rights of the disabled, particularly with respect to gaining access to education. The website includes press releases on lawsuits in which the organization is involved, reports on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), amicus curiae briefs, and links to related organizations and government agencies. Among its current projects are appropriate long-term care facilities, an ADA hotline, and accessibility of pubic transportation. One interesting section is the proceedings of an international conference on disability law held in 2000, which contains the texts and English summaries of laws from many countries pertaining to civil and employment rights of the disabled. The site is searchable by keyword or phrase and is available in a text-only version. Parents mainstreaming a disabled child will want to check out this website.

Fraud Defense Network

URL: http://www.frauddefense.com
The Fraud Defense Network (FDN) has strived to be the leading Internet link for the anti-fraud community. Founded by insurance companies committed to reducing the hundreds of billions of dollars lost each year to insurance fraud, this website is a commercial, subscription-based enterprise. Members have access to a multitude of database systems that assist in the investigation and reduction of fraudulent activities. For legal researchers who care to subscribe, this is a very powerful tool. Members can search the FDN's large database of filed claims, for information on a wide variety of coverage from companies insuring health, life, disability, and property and casualty. Coverage types range from accidents to worker's compensation. The FDN web site also offers information to non-members in the form of useful facts and figures on the cost of fraud to businesses and consumers, links to fraud-related news wire stories, and small articles written by and for fraud investigators. In keeping with its mission, the FDN website also contains a wealth of links to legal sites, public and private data sources, and other vendors of useful tools for the fraud investigator.

Real Life Dictionary of the Law

URL: http://dictionary.law.com
A feature of the Law.com website, this dictionary has been compiled by Gerald and Kathleen Hill, a lawyer and a writer with government experience, respectively. The user may enter a legal term or a definition, retrieving one or more entries, or browse by any letter of the alphabet. Each entry consists of a brief definition with a concise overview of the issue's status in the law and social context, with hypothetical or historical examples. There may be a see-also reference to other terms , e.g. "perjury", see also "subornation of perjury." The dictionary is "real-life" because definitions are given in plain English, and most entries are English terms or commonly-used Latin expressions. Observations are made as to whether certain crimes are in fact likely to be prosecuted. No citations or references are given, and for complete information users will need to consult the appropriate state or federal statute (for example, the authors point out that states have differing standards for what constitutes a felony or grand larceny), but for the layperson who wants to know the distinction between burglary and trespass, why a getaway driver can be charged with murder, or the role of a deposition, this can be a useful ready-reference tool.