The Maryland Senate on Monday voted 42-4 to approve a bill legalizing medical marijuana programs at participating research centers. The bill was approved by the state’s House of Delegates in a 108-28 vote last month. The bill would establish the Natalie M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission, which would function within the Department of Health and [...]

A UN rights expert on Monday urged EU member states to do more to ensure that Roma peoples receive the support necessary to fully enjoy all their basic human rights. As Monday was International Roma Day, UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues Rita Izsak commended the international community for its efforts in protecting the Roma [...]

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych signed a decree on Sunday pardoning Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister and a close ally of the imprisoned former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko . Lutsenko was serving a four-year sentence on charges of abuse of office and embezzlement, while Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence on charges of abuse of [...]

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday ordered former Pakistani president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf to remain in the country until he has responded to allegations of treason. The allegations stem from Musharraf’s 1999 military overthrow of democratically-elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his subsequent suspension of the nation’s constitution. Pakistani authorities also alleged [...]

Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council on Sunday urged Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdallah to resign and return to his former position as a judge. Abdallah has been criticized by the liberal opposition who accuse him of targeting critics of President Mohamed Morsi , the Muslim Brotherhood , and independent media, including the popular television satirist Bassem Youssef who [...]

The Iraqi Cabinet announced an amendment to the De-Baathification law on Monday that would allow thousands of former members of Saddam Hussein’s now-defunct Baath party to serve in the public sector and receive pensions. The proposed amendment would allow former Baath party branch chiefs to rejoin the public sector and provide pensions to members of [...]

The Kansas legislature on Friday approved an anti-abortion bill that declares that life begins at fertilization, granting unborn children “all the rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents” of the state. The bill prohibits the state from funding abortion services and from granting tax credit for any sales incurred for an [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kathryn Young, University of Virginia School of Law Class of 2013, analyzes the uses, reliability and legality of independent reports in light of their increased uses in collegiate sports… When sports scandals break, a common tool used by universities is the “independent report.” To understand how these reports function, two recent examples [...]

Turkish judges on Monday delayed closing arguments in the trial of 275 individuals charged with plotting to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan . Defendants were scheduled to deliver closing statements on Monday, but mass protests outside the courtroom caused delays, as police used water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray to [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Karl M. Manheim of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles says Twitter should comply with French law, but only within that jurisdiction….