JURIST Guest Columnist Anne Herzberg of NGO Monitor reviews the recent article, “Unsettled: A Global Study of Settlements in Occupied Territory”… Article 49(6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention is the most cited legal provision invoked by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the UN and quasi-judicial bodies to declare illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The language [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday threw out a challenge to Ohio’s execution secrecy law. Under HB 663 , the identity of individuals and entities that participate in the lethal injection process is treated as confidential and privileged. The court held that the prisoners who brought the challenge lacked standing [...]
A federal judge on Wednesday denied a legal challenge to the state’s ban on taking personal photos at polling locations, known as “ballot selfies” on election day. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California filed the lawsuit on Monday against California Secretary of State Alex Padilla , arguing that photographing one’s ballot is [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in the case of Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne International . The court granted certiorari in June to determine whether the pleading standard for alleging that a case falls under the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) is more stringent than the “insubstantial [...]
The High Court of South Africa on Wednesday ordered the release of a report on corruption allegations against President Jacob Zuma. The country’s former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, concluded the report into the possibly corrupt relationship between Zuma and an influential family last month, shortly before the expiry of her seven-year term. The report was [...]
The UK High Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that the UK government cannot make the decision to enact Article 50 to leave the EU without the approval of Parliament, although the court did not give an opinion on the merits of leaving the EU. Article 50 of the Treaty on the EU governs the process [...]
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday that the governments of France and the UK are failing in their obligation to protect refugee children in the Calais “Jungle” refugee camp. The UNHCR accused the governments of failing to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child by destroying a refugee camp, which forced unaccompanied [...]
A court in Iran on Tuesday sentenced former prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi to 135 lashes for corruption, according to the state run media . Mortazavi was a prosecutor who was accused of human rights abuses during the Arab Spring protests, which resulted in the death of three protesters . An ally of former president Mahmoud [...]
Several South Sudanese organizations co-authored a letter to the African Union Commission (AUC) Tuesday concerning the creation of the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. The letter asked Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the AUC, to draft a statute ensuring that the court is enacted through appropriate channels and also to establish a method to preserve evidence. [...]
There is “o hope” for a fair election in Gambia due to widespread intimidation and violence towards the opposition, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday. The report, titled “More Fear than Fair,” details the increase of violence and detainment of opposition activists following a crackdown on opposition leaders earlier this year, beginning in April with [...]
