The Quebec National Assembly on Tuesday adopted Bill 115 , a controversial measure modifying English-language speakers’ access to English public schools in the province. The new provisions, which are expected to gain royal assent next week, will establish a vesting system whereby children of English-speaking citizens can accrue points toward legal entitlement to access to [...]
Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart announced Tuesday that Google was in violation of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) when it unintentionally captured personal information while taking pictures for its Google Street View feature . A preliminary letter of findings explained that Google specifically violated principles 4.1 – 4.4 of PIPEDA, which [...]
A group of Kyrgyz lawyers is refusing to proceed with defending of ethnic Uzbeks in connection with eruptions of ethnic violence in June unless the government provides increased protections for them and their families. Group representatives cite multiple instances of violence against defenders of those accused of stoking ethnic violence surrounding the overthrow of president [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled Tuesday that the war crimes trial of former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba can proceed. Appeals chamber Judge Anita Usacka affirmed the ruling of the trial chamber and dismissed Bemba’s appeal challenging the admissibility of the case before the ICC. The court found that Bemba [...]
The European Commission (EC) announced Tuesday that it is temporarily postponing the human rights complaint filed against France over the country’s failure to respect the EU’s Free Movement Directive of 2004 in its expulsion of Roma migrants . In September, the EC asked the French government to enact legislation guaranteeing that procedural safeguards would be [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Friday upheld the constitutionality of an Illinois statute mandating a daily moment of silence in public schools. The court rejected arguments that the Illinois Reflection and Silent Prayer Act violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by encouraging prayer in public schools, reversing an [...]
Lawyers representing the city of San Francisco submitted a brief on Monday arguing that California’s ban on same-sex marriages , better known as Proposition 8 , is irrational under California state law. The brief was submitted to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit both in support of the district court’s finding in [...]
A federal jury on Monday convicted four men for planting explosive devices outside New York City synagogues and plotting to shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in New York. James Cromitie and three co-defendants were found guilty of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to kill officers and employees [...]
The Iranian Culture Ministry announced Monday that it will shut down media outlets that publish reports on opposition leaders. The government warned media outlets against reports on opposition leaders, marking the government’s first public acknowledgment of such censorship. There has been no mainstream media coverage of the two most prominent opposition presidential candidates, Mir Hossein [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Keith J. Bybee of Syracuse University says in order for both state and federal judges to retain legitimacy, it is not enough for them to merely avoid actual improprieties; they must also visibly appear to play the role of impartial arbiter to sustain public support… Judges around the country have been struggling [...]
