Japan’s parliament on Friday passed a controversial secrecy law amid widespread protests. The law, which has drawn protests at every step of the approval process, targets public officials who leak information to the public. Those convicted under the law could face up to 10 years in prison. US based rights group, Open Society Foundations , [...]
JURIST Contributing Editor Michael Kelly of the Creighton University School of Law examines the ongoing dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands …
An Egyptian appeals court on Saturday gave one-year suspended sentences to 14 Islamist women for protesting in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi , reducing their 11-year prison sentences. At the same trial, seven female teenage defendants who had been sentenced to imprisonment until they reached the age of 18 had their sentences reduced to [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Rashida Manjoo on Friday commended recent steps taken by Azerbaijan officials to adopt legal measures in protection of women’s rights, but urged authorities to better implement these policies. Though many acknowledged that violence against women is a widespread occurrence, there is very little reliable data on the matter. [...]
A German district court in Ellwangen ruled Friday that accused former Auschwitz guard, Hans Lipschis, is unfit to stand trial. The ruling was based on Lipschis’ early stages of incipient dementia, making him unable to comprehend the criminal trial. While Lipschis acknowledges being a member of the SS at Auschwitz, he maintains he only served [...]
The UN Operation in the Ivory Coast (UNOCI) and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for human rights (OHCHR) on Friday released a report documenting severe human rights violations occurring in the Ivory Coast. Dozos, who are responsible for undertaking security measures within the country, have allegedly been violating civilians’ human rights, by undertaking [...]
The Military Court Centre in Bulford on Friday sentenced a sergeant of the UK Royal Marines to life in prison for the murder of a Taliban insurgent that occurred during the sergeant’s overseas deployment. Alexander Blackman, along with four other individuals, was charged with killing a wounded Taliban fighter, who appeared in a video that [...]
The US Supreme Court agreed Friday to rule on a a key software patent case. The question before the court in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International is: “Whether claims to computer-implemented inventions—including claims to systems and machines, processes, and items of manufacture—are directed to patent-eligible subject matter within the meaning of 35 [...]
The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill intended to curb the actions of “patent trolls” , or patent assertion entities, in which companies frivolously accuse other companies, often small business owners, of patent infringement in effort to collect licensing fees. The bill, also referred to as “the Innovation Act,” promotes transparency and [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday that developers of the 7 World Trade Center (7WTC) Building were not liable for the damages caused by the collapse of the 7WTC several hours after the twin towers were destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attack. The owner of the electrical substation that was [...]
