The US Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum that nothing in the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 (ATS) rebuts the US presumption against extraterritoriality and that suits challenging torture and international law violations that took place overseas cannot be brought in US Court. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority [...]

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was ordered by the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday to return to prison from the military hospital where he was staying after he appeared healthy at a hearing on Monday. Also on Wednesday, a Cairo Court of Appeals announced that Mubarak’s retrial for complicity in the killing of protesters would begin [...]

The New Zealand Parliament on Wednesday voted 77-44 in favor of an amendment to the existing Marriage Act of 1955 that would allow same-sex couples to marry. The debate surrounding the controversial legislation was heated, but the bill was eventually passed on its third reading. Specifically, the bill amends previous legislation to prevent discrimination against [...]

Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi has not been able to speak with a lawyer or told what charges he faces during his eight-month detention, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Wednesday. HRW was permitted earlier this week to speak to al-Senussi, who had been a powerful figure and key ally to Muammar Gaddafi during his [...]

The government of Uganda and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Monday launched a ‘mobile’ court intended to serve both the migrant population of the Nakivale settlement and nearby Ugandan nationals. The project is intended to provide quicker access to justice as well as a deterrent to crime in Nakivale, which is home to more [...]

North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple on Tuesday signed SB 2368 , a measure banning abortions after 20 weeks gestation based on the controversial premise that a fetus can feel pain at that point. The North Dakota House of Representatives passed the bill last Friday, and it was approved by the North Dakota Senate in February. [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on three cases related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks Tuesday, upholding the dismissal of almost all of the claims against the defendants. In In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001 (Asat Trust Reg., et al) the court upheld dismissals for a lack of personal [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl on who should have rightful custody of Baby Veronica in light of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) . A non-Indian woman put her baby, who was fathered by an American Indian, up for adoption. A South Carolina couple attempted to [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a 5-4 decision in US Airways, Inc v. McCutchen that the terms of a contract in a health benefit plan should not be overturned through the application of equitable principles. The decision vacated and remanded the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit , [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on Monday extended an injunction blocking Mississippi from revoking the license of the state’s only abortion clinic. In seeking to close down the clinic, Mississippi is attempting to enforce House Bill 1390 , a 2012 state law requiring all OB-GYNs to have [...]