The government of Uruguay on Friday presented to its national congress a bill to legalize the production and sale of marijuana in the country. Uruguay President Jose Mujica stated that the bill is a measure designed to decrease the violent crime associated with marijuana, adding that its detrimental effects are less harmful than the crimes [...]
The Supreme Court of India ruled Thursday that persons accused of crimes are entitled to free legal representation in all courts, not just at the trial level. The statute in question was the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, which declares that all persons who must defend a case are entitled to free legal services. [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday heard arguments in the challenge brought by a Mississippi church against a municipal ordinance that bans churches from the city’s town square. The Opulent Life Church , a Southern Baptist congregation of 18 members, sought a a preliminary injunction via a lawsuit initially filed [...]
The Supreme Court of California on Thursday ruled that several insurance companies must pay the state up to $60 million to clean up an industrial waste storage site. In a unanimous decision California’s high court declared that consecutive state-purchased policies of various insurance companies require that each company pay up to its damage cap for [...]
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday expressed concern over the shortage of humanitarian assistance for the over half a million internally displaced people in Myanmar and called for increased access for aid agencies. At the end of his four-day mission to the country OCHA Director of Operations John Ging [...]
Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that sought to disqualify from the November 6th ballot three Florida Supreme Court justices who face a retention vote. The lawsuit alleged that the three justices unlawfully used court employees to further their election campaigns in that the employees helped prepare the justices’ election papers. In [...]
The US District Court for the District of Hawaii on Wednesday denied a state law challenge brought by a lesbian couple who seek to be married rather than enter into a civil union. Natasha Jackson and Janin Kleid filed the lawsuit in December, claiming they are being denied the “fundamental right” to marry under Hawaii’s [...]
The Ivory Coast’s commission of inquiry into the country’s 2010 post-election violence submitted a report to President Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday revealing that hundreds of fighters on both sides of the hostilities committed war crimes and human rights violations. Following the disputed November 2010 election pro-Ouattara forces clashed with forces loyal to former president Laurent [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Azadeh Shahshahani National Security/Immigrant Rights’ Project Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia says that the unchecked power of the Immigration Enforcement Review Board set up by House Bill 87 is cause for great concern …
UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous people James Anaya on Thursday urged the government of Colombia to advance its negotiations with indigenous authorities in northern Cauca regarding the military presence in the area, as well as other pressing issues. Anaya called for a good faith dialogue to find solutions in compliance with international [...]
