Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday urged Syria to lift the siege on the town of Daraa and accused Syrian authorities of violating international law in attempting to quell protesters. Movement in and out of Daraa came to a halt almost two weeks ago when the Syrian army surrounded the city, cutting electricity, phone lines [...]
Amnesty International (AI) accused forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi of committing war crimes in Misratah in a report on Thursday. According to the report, Gaddafi’s troops have employed excessive use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, fired snipers at civilians in residential areas of the city and even deliberately used civilians as “human shields.” “Shielding,” [...]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint on Friday in the US District Court for the District of Arizona , challenging a state constitutional amendment that guarantees a vote by secret ballot for employee representation. The NLRB, an independent US agency that is charged with conducting elections for labor unions and remedying unfair [...]
The Florida House of Representatives on Thursday voted 77-38 to pass controversial legislation revising the state’s election laws, only hours after the Senate did so by a 25-13 margin. The bill limits the window for early voting to one week prior to an election, down from the previously established two weeks, and imposes a series [...]
The Supreme Court of California on Thursday ruled unanimously to allow claims against tobacco companies for smoking-related ailments that arise after the statute of limitations for an earlier condition has elapsed. Though state law requires that parties file suit within two years of discovering an injury, the decision will allow smokers to proceed with claims [...]
The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil unanimously recognized legal rights for partners in same-sex civil unions on Thursday. Through the ruling, gay couples in “stable relationships” now have rights to community property, alimony, health insurance and tax benefits, adoption, and inheritance rights. The court disregarded a portion of the civil code, instead deferring to Article [...]
Human rights experts from the UN Commission for Human Rights on Friday called on the US to disclose further details on the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden . Special Rapporteurs Christof Heyns and Martin Scheinin are seeking more information in order “to allow an assessment in terms of international human rights law [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Peter Erlinder of William Mitchell College of Law was defense counsel in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) until last month when he was removed for “misconduct,” an action that he argues was part of a wider history of institutional bias that has helped the Rwandan government label him and other [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Caitlin Borgmann of the City University of New York School of Law says the new wave of anti-abortion legislation in Congress and state legislatures is aimed at pushing the limits of the current constitutional framework and prompting its abandonment… The scores of anti-abortion bills pending and passing across the country following the [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday urged the government of Bahrain to release detained activists and exercise restraint against protesters. Pillay called on leaders to “urgently conduct an independent, impartial investigation and bring all those who were responsible for assaulting and killing protestors to justice.” She expressed concern over the prosecution [...]
