In a report this week, Greenpeace estimated that more than 90 per cent of logging in Papua New Guinea was being conducted illegally, with most of the timber ending up in China.

The authorities say the attack might have been politically motivated, and it prompted arms searches of former high-ranking army officials, which some diplomats say may have been conducted illegally.

The idea here is that citizens would be entitled to compensation for loss caused by the conduct of a particular activity regardless of whether that activity was conducted legally or illegally, in a faulty way or absolutely blamelessly.

The trial uncovered extensive wiretapping being conducted illegally by the FBI, and became a major embarrassment for the agency.

The party was left unregistered in 2004, when the government claimed that the reelection of party leader Mikalay Statkevich had been conducted illegally.

Virtually all the fires are conducted illegally, without the required permits.

He added that for the agency "to simply approve a study that was illegally conducted and that caused possibly unnecessary deaths shows a political weakness that is tragic for us all."

Mr. Carvin was later caught in a trap set by Justice Peggy A. Quince, forced to admit that thousands of partially punched ballots could only be read in a manual recount, which he said was being conducted illegally.

"When you have a bazaar economy, as we do, with trafficking and corruption - 90 percent of our commercial operations are conducted illegally - taxes are not paid, or customs duties," he said.

Mr. Williams says he has merely prosecuted people who illegally and knowingly conducted marriages without proper licenses.