EXPERT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Department of State, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Good faith, a form of honesty, is the lifeblood that flows through contracts, treaties and negotiations, leading to bargains, ceasefires, and the end of wars. Good faith presupposes sincerity of purpose. When parties come to the table to resolve a conflict, they assume that each side genuinely seeks a resolution. The demands may be excessive, [...]

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The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in Hunter v. United States, a case concerning when people can be forced to yield their rights through a plea “agreement.” It’s a case that, for at least one of the Court’s justices and a longtime critic of plea bargaining, is likely to resonate especially strongly: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, [...]

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At first glance, neither the June 2025 operation against Iran nor the follow-on attacks of late February 2026 carried any real risks of a nuclear conflict. Allegedly, in those large-scale military actions, cooperative efforts by Israel and the United States were launched to prevent Iranian nuclearization. Still, in any future armed conflict against the Islamic [...]

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The modern international order rests on a foundational promise: states must resolve disputes peacefully, and force may be used only as a last resort and only within the bounds of law. The US helped build this system after World War II, embedding these principles in the UN Charter and in its own Constitution. Yet the [...]

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A recent investigation by RFE/RL’s Schemes unit revealed that a senior Russian commander shared a meme among fellow officers that read, “It’s not a war crime if it was fun.” The sentiment is shocking, but it is not surprising—particularly given the context in which it was shared: alongside messages documenting the mutilation of prisoners, the [...]

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As we stand in February 2026, there is no industry or area of our daily lives that has not been infiltrated, touched, or impacted by Artificial Intelligence (AI)—whether we are aware of it or not. This is not just true globally but even here in South Africa. If it’s not being used by your search [...]

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Paramilitary forces in Sudan unleashed “a wave of intense violence…shocking in its scale and brutality” during their final offensive to seize the city of El Fasher last October, according to the UN human rights office. That clinical phrasing barely conveys what actually happened: a city starved, surrounded, and then assaulted in a way that left [...]

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Several cities across the United States have begun to break new ground in recent years by legally recognizing polyamorous relationships. Somerville, Massachusetts, led the way in 2020, becoming the first city to pass a domestic partnership ordinance that includes relationships among more than two adults, granting them many of the same rights and privileges as [...]

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