Law

The Texas Supreme Court placed an administrative stay on Friday on a lower court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) that barred the enforcement of the state’s strict abortion bans on a pregnant woman whose fetus was recently diagnosed with a fatal condition. The court placed an administrative stay on the TRO “pending further review” and “without […] The post Texas Supreme Court places hold on lower court order allowing woman to obtain an abortion appeared first on JURIST - News.

Legal and human rights groups have filed a legal challenge with the UK’s High Court calling for the government to stop granting licenses for weapons exports to Israel, activists said on Thursday. Al-Haq, a Palestinian independent NGO that works on protecting and promoting human rights and the rule of law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, […] The post Human rights groups file legal challenge to stop UK licenses for Israel weapons exports appeared first on JURIST - News.

A US federal appeals court upheld on Friday a gag order against former President Donald Trump imposed by the district judge overseeing his criminal case in Washington DC. The US District Court of Appeals for DC agreed with the district judge that some gag order is needed in the case to ensure the “fair and […] The post Federal appellate judge upholds but narrows Trump gag order in election interference case appeared first on JURIST - News.

Human rights organization Safeguard Defenders (SD) published a report on Sunday alleging the practice of collective punishment as a political tool by the Chinese government against human rights defenders and their families on Sunday, which marks International Human Rights Day. The report, titled “FAMILIES IN FEAR: Collective Punishment in 21st Century China”, documents the Chinese […] The post Rights group publishes report accusing China of collective punishment appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on Friday on the groundbreaking proposal for the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), marking the world’s first comprehensive set of rules governing artificial intelligence. The primary objective of the AI Act is to regulate AI based on its potential risks to […] The post EU reaches deal on world-first artificial intelligence rules appeared first on JURIST - News.

Dutch police arrested a 55-year-old Syrian refugee on Friday in the town of Druten in the province of Gelderland on suspicion of crimes against humanity, including complicity in torture and sexual violence in Syria during the civil war. This is the first time that the Netherlands has accused someone of committing crimes against humanity. The […] The post Netherlands police arrest Syrian refugee suspected of crimes against humanity appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Scottish Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court, ruled on Friday that UK ministers acted lawfully when they blocked reforms proposed by the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Bill sought to allow people of Scotland to self-identify their gender and was passed in Scottish Parliament in December 2022. The UK government previously invoked […] The post Scotland supreme civil court rules UK government acted lawfully in blocking Gender Recognition Reform Bill appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned on Saturday the Russian Federation’s plans to hold presidential elections on occupied Ukrainian territory early next year, following the decision taken by Russian lawmakers on Friday. Russian authorities, in addition to setting a date for the presidential election, also announced that they plan to arrange voting in Donetsk, Luhansk, […] The post Ukraine condemns Russia plans for presidential election in occupied territories appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal on Friday granted seven activists a certificate to appeal against their conviction of taking part in an unauthorized assembly. At the same time, the court dismissed the government’s appeal to the Appellate Court’s overturn of convictions of organizing an unauthorised assembly. Applying to appeal their convictions, the activists contended […] The post Hong Kong court allows activists to appeal unauthorized assembly convictions appeared first on JURIST - News.

The UK, the US and Canadaannounced coordinated sanctions on Friday against individuals and entities linked to human rights abuse, approaching the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UK has imposed 46 sanctions of asset freezes and travel bans. The first category of these focuses mainly on forced labour […] The post UK, US and Canada sanction individuals and entities for human rights abuse appeared first on JURIST - News.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened a formal investigation on Thursday into three of the US’s top universities’ and their responses to increasing antisemitism on campuses. The presidents of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology previously appeared before a congressional committee for a hearing on December […] The post US House committee opens formal investigation into Penn, Harvard and MIT’s response to rising antisemitism appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Sri Lankan government announced Friday the establishment an independent Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation through an act introduced in Sri Lanka’s Parliament. The government stated that the commission is intended to“ensure an inclusive process in developing legislation that strengthens and safeguards national unity through truth, transitional justice, reconciliation, reparation and social cohesion.” The […] The post Sri Lanka to establish independent commission for truth and reconciliation appeared first on JURIST - News.

A California grand jury indicted Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, on Thursday on nine new federal criminal tax charges. The new charges join the two previous charges filed against him in a federal court in Delaware. Biden now faces 11 charges in total—three felonies and eight misdemeanors. The indictment concerns Biden’s […] The post Hunter Biden indicted on 9 new criminal charges appeared first on JURIST - News.

Indian politician Mahua Moitra was expelled from the lower house of the Parliament, known as the Lok Sabha, for indulging in “unethical conduct” and committing “serious misdemeanours” following a recommendation by the Ethics Committee. Moitra belongs to the opposition party, Trinamool Congress, headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee. The Ethics Committee Report accused […] The post India politician expelled from lower house of Parliament for indulging in unethical conduct appeared first on JURIST - News.

Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Thursday that Israeli settlers from the West Bank would be banned from entering Belgium.This follows the US’s announcement of travel restrictions “targeting individuals and their family members involved in or meaningfully contributing to actions that undermine peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” This as tensions […] The post Belgium to introduce travel ban on Israeli West Bank settlers appeared first on JURIST - News.

A Texas judge granted on Thursday a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the enforcement of the state’s strict abortion bans on a pregnant woman whose fetus was recently diagnosed with a fatal condition. In effect, the judge’s order allows the plaintiff to access abortion care in Texas at a point in her pregnancy when she […] The post Texas judge allows pregnant woman access to abortion care despite state ban appeared first on JURIST - News.

A judge in Nairobi, Kenya ruled on Thursday that Meta Platforms, Inc., the parent company of social media sites like Facebook, is not in contempt of court for failure to pay dozens of content moderators that a contractor had laid off, according to Kenyan news source People Daily. Justice Mathews Nduma Nderi of the Employment […] The post Kenya judge dismisses contempt of court charges against Meta appeared first on JURIST - News.

Ukrainian authorities appeared to claim credit for the assassination of Illia Kyva, a former presidential candidate and member of the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), near Moscow on Wednesday. Andriy Yusov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service, appeared to confirm the killing in a video, stating that Kyva was “one of the biggest scumbags, […] The post Ukraine sources claim responsibility for assassination of former MP appeared first on JURIST - News.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave testimony to the COVID-19 Inquiry, a body examining the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, on Wednesday and Thursday. During the hearing, he acknowledged that his government “may have made mistakes” in their handling of the pandemic and said he was “deeply sorry for the pain and suffering” […] The post UK former PM Boris Johnson acknowledges government ‘may have made mistakes’ during COVID-19 inquiry appeared first on JURIST - News.

Thousands of protesters in New Zealand took to the streets Tuesday after the new government released its plans for policy regarding Maori rights and The Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand. The protests occurred after Te Pati Maori (The Maori Party) called upon its members and sympathetic New Zealanders to protest the morning of the […] The post Protests break out in New Zealand over changes in government policy toward indigenous Maori appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Danish Parliament adopted legislation Thursday making it illegal to burn the Holy Quran and other sacred religious books in public spaces. The move comes in the wake of an upward trend of incidents involving the burning of religious texts, and in particular, the Holy Quran, which is the religious text central to the Islamic […] The post Denmark Parliament passes law criminalizing burning of Quran appeared first on JURIST - News.

Former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori was released from prison Wednesday, due to the Peru Constitutional Court order despite the concerns of the IACHR. The Inter-American Court required Peru to refrain from executing the order to release the former president. However, just a day later, on December 6, the Constitutional Court issued a judicial resolution […] The post Former Peru president released from prison, despite concerns of IACHR appeared first on JURIST - News.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced his determination that combatants on both sides of Sudan’s ongoing civil conflict have committed war crimes in recent months, and that some had also committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. Since mid-April, members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia […] The post US says combatants on both sides of Sudan conflict have committed war crimes appeared first on JURIST - News.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced Wednesday that six individuals have been indicted by a Nevada grand jury for falsely representing themselves as electors in the 2020 election. The six individuals, all members of the Republican party, were charged after falsely portraying themselves as electors for the state of Nevada and producing false voting records […] The post Nevada indicts six individuals for acting as ‘fake electors’ in the 2020 presidential election appeared first on JURIST - News.

In response to the recent deaths of six Nepali citizens serving in the Russian army, Nepali authorities have apprehended 12 individuals suspected of involvement in an illegal operation coercing unemployed youths to join the Russian military campaign in Ukraine on Wednesday. The detainees are accused of extorting significant amounts—up to $9000—from victims, falsely promising travel […] The post Nepal cracks down on alleged human smuggling ring tied to Russian army recruitment appeared first on JURIST - News.

Authorities in Malaysia have opened an investigation into a local man on Wednesday for expressing support for diplomatic relations with Israel during an interview with an Israeli media personality. The Royal Malaysian Police confirmed in a statement that 36-year-old Victor Yong has been taken into custody to aid in their probe under Section 4(1) of […] The post Malaysia investigates citizen for pro-Israel comments appeared first on JURIST - News.

UN Secretary General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter on Wednesday due to humanitarian conditions in Gaza amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. In a letter posted across Guterres’ social media platforms, he stressed that the health care system in Gaza is “collapsing” partially due to Israeli bombings on hospitals in Gaza. Human […] The post UN Secretary General invokes Article 99, warning of ‘severe risk’ of humanitarian crisis in Gaza appeared first on JURIST - News.

JURIST UK Senior Editor James Joseph | King’s College London, GB also contributed to this report. The UK government published emergency legislation Wednesday that would declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and push through their controversial deportation policy. Shortly after the legislation’s release, UK Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, resigned stating that the bill […] The post UK government publishes emergency legislation to declare Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers appeared first on JURIST - News.

The Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) issued a warrant on Tuesday for Martin Oei, an overseas political commentator for allegedly inciting another person not to vote in the District Council election. The ICAC alleged that Oei incited another person not to vote through his public social media posts during the election period, in […] The post Hong Kong corruption watchdog issues warrant for political commentator appeared first on JURIST - News.

Following an investigation, the human rights organization Amnesty International found that the Israeli military used US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) to commit war crimes in Gaza on Tuesday. Amnesty International alleges that it found “distinctive fragments of the munition in the rubble of destroyed homes in central Gaza.” The organization also asserts that the […] The post Amnesty International: US-made bombs used in civilian airstrike in Gaza appeared first on JURIST - News.