Uganda made international headlines this week as its Constitutional Court upheld the bulk of a draconian law that would impose the death sentence for “aggravated homosexuality.” But for LGBTQ+ activists within the country, the death penalty isn’t the only specter that looms in the judgment’s aftermath. Over the past 15 years, Ugandan authorities have endeavored [...]
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President Biden calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire in phone conversation with Israeli PM Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden called for an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians and improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza on Thursday. A White House readout of a phone call Biden had with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable [...]
US federal appeals court holds Pennsylvania mail-in ballot date requirement is legal
A US federal appeals court panel ruled Wednesday that the date requirement for mail-in ballots for Pennsylvania voters did not violate the Civil Right Act’s Materiality Provision, reversing a lower court’s decision. This ballot debate has remained ongoing since the enactment of Act 77, a voter reform bill in Pennsylvania. Act 77 requires Pennsylvania voters [...]
Explainer: Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments in Latest Reproductive Rights Case
The US Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case concerning the authorization and regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone at a time when reproductive rights are at the heart of political division and changing policies across the nation. At the center of the case is the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine’s lawsuit against the Food [...]
Explainer Part II: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Court of Justice
The ongoing conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine continues to raise significant issues of international law and policy. My earlier contribution focused on the jurisdiction and substantive law of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Here I address the ongoing litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court). Because the crime of genocide can be [...]
Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]
Hong Kong court upholds opposition activists national security data request convictions
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance upheld pro-democracy activists Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong’s convictions of failing to comply with notice to provide information under Article 43 of the China-imposed National Security Law. Schedule 5 of the Implementation Rules of Article 43 states that the Commissioner of Police may serve a notice [...]
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill that could ban TikTok in the US. If enacted, the bill would outlaw the distribution, maintenance, or updating of any app owned by or affiliated with the Beijing-based TikTok owner ByteDance, Ltd., or any successor or subsidiary if such is owned by “foreign adversaries” — a [...]
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on Monday accused the US of orchestrating a covert campaign to interfere with the upcoming Russian presidential election, set to take place on Mar. 15-17. The spy agency claims the administration of US President Joe Biden has ordered a group of American NGOs to stifle voter turnout in a bid [...]
The UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi raised the issue last month of Hong Kong’s new Article 23 national security proposals, which have been a subject of considerable controversy and debate in recent years. The Article 23 law in Hong Kong’s Basic Law stipulates that the [...]
