The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs voted Thursday to approve a bill that would impose sanctions on Russian officials linked to the 2009 death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky . If passed, the bill will bar the US State Department (DOS) from issuing visas to Russian officials connected with Magnitsky’s death and will impose [...]
The Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology revealed its proposed changes to Chinese Internet law that seek to limit the ability of users to post anonymous comments on micro-blogs and forums. The law proposes that Internet users be required to register on certain sites using their real identity and that operators of sites be required [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Kenneth Gallant of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law says that the sentencing of Charles Taylor should have included the provision of reparations for his victims, and that the prosecution ought to raise this issue on appeal…
The Israeli parliament on Wednesday voted 69-22 against a bill that would have legalized the unauthorized settlements in the West Bank on privately held Palestinian land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged lawmakers to vote against the bill in the face of the country’s Supreme Court decision ordering the 30 apartments in Ulpana neighborhood to be [...]
Denmark’s Parliament on Thursday voted to approve a bill that legalizes same-sex marriages in the country’s state Lutheran church ceremonies. Previously, same-sex unions were only permitted to be conducted in small ceremonies at the end of formal church services. Although Denmark became the first country in the world to recognize same-sex unions , they have [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation Catarina Albuquerque on Wednesday strongly urged nations to support the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) that will take place in Brazil later this month. Albuquerque stated in an open letter to [...]
The Iraqi government has executed Abid Hamid Mahmud, a former bodyguard and secretary of Saddam Hussein , an official from the Iraqi Justice Ministry said Thursday. Mahmud was sentenced to death by hanging in 2010 alongside former Iraqi foreign minister and deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz and one other official, after being convicted of genocide [...]
Mexican President Felipe Calderon has signed a climate change bill that will introduce sweeping environmental reform. The bill requires the country to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2020, requires 35 percent of its energy come form renewable sources by 2024, requires mandatory emissions reporting, establishes a carbon-trading market and creates a commission [...]
A federal judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday that section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it violates the principles of federalism. The ruling is the fourth federal decision finding that section 3, which denies federal marriage benefits to lawfully married [...]
Preserve Marriage Washington presented over 200,000 referendum signatures on Wednesday seeking to overturn recently signed same-sex marriage legislation. The signatures have prevented Washington’s gay marriage law from taking effect on Thursday. Earlier this year Washington Governor Chris Gregoire announced her plans to permit same-sex marriages to be performed in the state and signed the measure [...]
