A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday lifted injunctions blocking Argentina from paying its restructured debt. According to Judge Thomas Griesa, the circumstances of the situation have changed so significantly that the injunction was now detrimental to public interest. Lawyers for a majority of Argentina’s creditors [...]
A retired lieutenant colonel and a former paramilitary were ordered to pay more than USD $1 million in damages to victims of sexual slavery and other crimes against humanity during Guatemala’s Civil War and decades of armed conflict. Both retired Lt. Col. Esteelmer Francisco Reyes Giron and former paramilitary Heriberto Valdez Asij reportedly do not [...]
A UK judge ruled Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) can be sued by two Nigerian towns in a British court for their involvement in oil leaks in Nigeria. Lawyers from Leigh Day brought a case in England against the oil conglomerate on behalf of the Nigerian towns of Ogale and Bille. The lawsuit stems [...]
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday heard argument on a Texas law that would require abortion clinics to upgrade facilities to hospital-like standards and would require doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. In Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt , the court is specifically asked to decide if this law is an “undue burden” [...]
Apple filed objections Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California against an order requiring the corporation to aid the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI in unlocking the iPhone of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. The appeal was filed in conjunction with an earlier motion to vacate. Apple says [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Tuesday marked 50 years since the adoption of two prominent UN human rights covenants which he said have paved the way for international respect regarding individual liberties in civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and [...]
The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed a resolution on Wednesday addressing the human rights situation in North Korea. A total of 212 legislators voted on the bill, which will become official law when approved by the Cabinet. The bill, proposed in 2005 but stalled by political disagreement, will fund civil activist groups [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague opened the confirmation of charges against Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi for destruction of religious and cultural heritage on Tuesday. The charges levied against Al Faqi, an alleged member of Islamic terrorist group, Ansar Dine , and an important figure in the occupation of Timbuktu, signal what [...]
The Utah Senate voted 20-9 on Tuesday in favor of a bill to repeal the death penalty. The Death Penalty Amendments bill would reorganize murder and homicide statutes as non capital offenses and give the prosecutors until May to seek a notice of capital punishment for any pending case. The legislation awaits final approval in [...]
The highest court in Venezuela, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice , on Tuesday ruled that the Venezuelan National Assembly may not review the appointment of 13 justices to the high court. The 13 justices were sworn in on December 23, immediately prior to the exit of prior Socialist Party majority. The court ruled that the [...]
