The African Union (AU) unanimously resolved Saturday that African heads of state should be immune from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) . In particular the AU denounced the ICC trials of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto . The AU alleges that the EU, which funds 70 percent of the [...]
The Supreme Court of New Jersey on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie challenging a lower court ruling that same-sex couples must be allowed to marry . The decision will allow the case to skip appellate-level hearings and move straight to the Supreme Court, with briefs are due in [...]
California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law and vetoed several gun control bills on Friday. Of the 17 bills awaiting gubernatorial approval, 11 were signed into law , including measures requiring buyers of long guns to obtain firearm safety certificates, phasing out the use of lead in ammunition, and banning individuals from gun ownership for [...]
A court in Chambery, France, ruled Friday that a Ministry of Justice circular , which stipulated that some foreign nationals would not be able to take advantage of France’s same-sex marriage laws, is incorrect. The circular explained that France’s bilateral agreement with 11 countries that do not recognize same-sex marriage prohibited French civil registrars from [...]
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights , Rupert Colville, applauded Tunisia’s newly formed torture prevention body on Friday. The law establishing the organization was passed unanimously on Wednesday, and the Committee should be up and running once the law is published. Tunisia adopted the measure as part of its new obligations since [...]
A Northern Ireland judge ruled Friday that Health Minister Edwin Poots could not continue to enforce the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood, calling the law “irrational.” The lifetime ban was introduced in the UK in the 1980s in an effort to prevent the spread of diseases that can be carried in blood. However, [...]
France Constitutional Council on Friday upheld France’s ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking , finding that banning the controversial natural gas extraction process is a valid means of protecting the environment. The issue was brought before the council by representatives of Schuepbach Energy , a US based energy explorer that had two exploration permits revoked [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled Friday that the case against former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi is inadmissible before the ICC and can be heard by domestic courts in Libya. The court found that, because “Al-Senussi is currently subject to domestic proceedings conducted by the Libyan competent authorities and that Libya is willing and [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Patricio Galella of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law argues that if diplomacy with Syria fails, and the UN Security Council is deadlocked, states would face a lasting dilemma: violate international law by using force without Security Council authorization or stay still and confirm the weakness of the UN system [...]
A New Jersey judge on Thursday denied the state’s motion to stay her September 27 order to begin permitting same-sex couples to enter civil marriages on October 21. On October 1 the state requested that the court stay its order until the “ultimate arbiter of substantial constitutional issues of first impression,” the Supreme Court, renders [...]
