JURIST Guest Columnist David M. Crane, founding Chief Prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal in West Africa, discusses the UN’s recent action that will allow for independent justice-seeking organizations to hold accountable parties committing international crimes in Syria… On Wednesday 21 December, 105 member states of the United Nations General Assembly took an important [...]
The State Council of China announced on Friday that it will ban all trade of ivory by the end of 2017. It is anticipated that the commercial processing of ivory will end in March 2017, and steps will be implemented to transition the cultural skill of carving ivory into carving of other materials such as [...]
Starting on January 1, 2017 French companies will be required to guarantee employees a “right to disconnect” from technology, in an effort to combat the “always-on” mentality pervading our modern workforce. The new law will require companies to engage in negotiations with employees determining their rights to switch off and ways they can reduce the [...]
Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker signed Senate Bill No. 2524 (SB 2524) on Friday, which will delay part of a voter-approved marijuana legalization initiative by six months. Massachusetts citizens voted 53.7% to approve the “possession, use, distribution, and cultivation of marijuana,” with the condition that it would be regulated similar to alcohol. The licensing of cannabis [...]
JURIST contributing editor Allen Rostron of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law discusses recent developments in lawsuits seeking to impose tort liability for negligent sale of firearms. While gun dealers continue to face a substantial risk of liability for negligence, gun manufacturers enjoy a higher degree of immunity… Fifteen years ago, the gun [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Friday ruled that manufacturers of drugs used for lethal injections may remain anonymous in Ohio. The lawsuit, Fears v. Kasich, was brought by death row inmates who claimed that barring discovery that would lead to the identity of such manufacturers unlawfully prevented prosecution against those [...]
The Chinese government on Friday announced that it will prosecute Ma Jian, a former vice minister of China’s Ministry of State Security, after he was accused of bribery and abusing his powers. Jian was put under investigation in 2015 following the conviction of Zhou Yongkang, the former head of China’s domestic security services, for bribery, [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Hugh D. Spitzer of the University of Washington School of Law discusses US Supreme Court decisions which could derail the anticipated efforts by president-elect Trump to punish so-called “sanctuary cities” … During the recent election campaign, candidate Donald Trump threatened to curtail federal funding for “sanctuary cities” that refuse to cooperate with [...]
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday condemned remarks made by US Secretary of State John Kerry on the current Israeli government. In a speech given on Thursday, Kerry criticized the building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, stating that such actions jeopardize prospects of peace in the [...]
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey announced Friday that its Commission on the Constitution approved a draft amendment to the Turkish Constitution which would give the president greater power. If the National Assembly approves the bill, which it is set to discuss in January, a referendum would have to approve the amendment as well, before [...]
