Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo and his wife Simone were arrested and charged on Thursday for a variety of economic crimes including looting, embezzlement and armed robbery. Most of Gbagbo’s remaining supporters were arrested earlier this month. Although Gbagbo’s supporters have been actively sought for arrest, many believe troops loyal to Ivory Coast President [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the violent suppression of anti-government protests. Pillay’s remarks came after the Fact-finding Mission in Syria published its 22-page report concluding that Syrian government forces cracking down on the opposition [...]
US President Barack Obama announced major reforms to America’s current immigration system on Thursday, putting 300,000 illegal immigrants’ cases up for review and temporarily halting their deportation. The new guidelines direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to target for deportation those “who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk,” and “clear [...]
Megan Crouch, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Class of 2013, spent the summer working at the Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre. She writes on the ability of rural villagers to access the justice system in Malawi and argues that new legislation to address this issue might improve the situation, if implemented properly… The number [...]
The Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles on Wednesday upheld a $13.8 million judgment against Philip Morris in the death of 45-year-old lifelong smoker Betty Bullock. Family of the deceased won the case after accusing the company of fraud by using deceptive marketing tactics. Philip Morris argued that the punitive judgment should simply [...]
After a day’s deliberation, the Council of States , India’s upper house of parliament voted 189 – 17 on Thursday to impeach Justice Soumitra Sen , a justice of the Calcutta High Court accused of embezzling funds. Impeachment hearings began Wednesday. Sen was charged with misappropriation of funds and misrepresentation of facts. Sen, in his [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights filed suit Monday challenging the practice of shackling immigration detainees in court. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California , claims that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and [...]
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday began the retrial of Ramush Haradinaj , a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander and the former prime minister of Kosovo, who was acquitted of all charges in 2008. The ICTY appeals chamber overturned the acquittals of Haradinaj, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj in July [...]
Syrian government forces cracking down on the opposition may be committing crimes against humanity, according to a report published Thursday by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) . The 22-page report, prepared by the the Fact-finding Mission on Syria, contains allegations of summary executions, killing of unarmed protesters and torture [...]
The Supreme Court of British Columbia dismissed a right to die suit by the Farewell Foundation for lack of standing on Wednesday but encouraged the group to intervene in a similar suit later this year. The group reported that Judge Lynn Smith was very respectful of the questions they raised but dismissed the suit due [...]
