The pandemic has created a jigsaw puzzle of fear, anxiety and uncertainty among the patients; however, the doctors during this havoc have tirelessly worked as frontline warriors saving millions of lives while putting theirs at risk. Since the pandemic began, over 1,500 doctors have selflessly sacrificed their lives only to find themselves standing at a [...]
Court packing, an idea that seemed forever discredited for 80 years after President Franklin Roosevelt’s notorious plan went down in flames in 1937, is back on the table. President Biden has appointed a commission to study the possibility of increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices, a response to calls from various Democrats to [...]
I am a Democrat and a strong admirer and supporter of President Biden. I think his administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress have achieved some striking successes so far. But my deeper loyalty, as a citizen and scholar, is to the constitutional system that has made America a great national experiment for almost 250 [...]
4,017,208 dead; 11,727,541 battling death. The above figures only begin to demonstrate the horrific reality and intolerable burden posed to the world at present due to Covid-19. The pandemic is more than just a health crisis, it is also a test of how effective international courts are when it comes to dealing with such unprecedented [...]
While hearing a divorce case for a heterosexual Hindu couple a few days ago, the Delhi High Court opined that the time had come for the Central Government to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for all Indians. In an order dated July 7, 2021, the judge presiding over the case, Justice Prathiba M. Singh, exclaimed that the modern [...]
The debate surrounding the interpretation of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) gained significant push when the matter relating to the grant of bail to three activists by the Delhi High Court reached the apex court in appeal. Though the court did not interfere in the bail order, the bench expressed anguish over the adjudication [...]
Essence, Existence and the Moaning of the Bar: In Memory of Judge James Crawford The passing of one of the undisputable greats of international law, Judge (Professor) James Richard Crawford (1948 – 2021) who embodied a towering intellectual rigour with great good humour, generosity and warmth is a momentous loss to the world of international [...]
Climate change is recognized as “the common concern of humanity.” On June 28, 2021, the European Council enacted a climate change law to reduce greenhouse gases emissions by 55% by 2030 – from 1990 levels – and to accomplish a net zero-emissions economy by 2050. Despite the legal enshrinement of net-zero and emission targets, the [...]
On June 7, at a public hearing, Representative Ilhan Omar asked Secretary of State Tony Blinken where the victims of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity could go to seek justice if domestic prosecutors won’t pursue cases in court. Omar had noted the Biden administration’s opposition to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s Afghanistan and [...]
The Independent Expert Panel (IEP), formulated for articulating the definition of the term “ecocide”, proposed a definition to construct a cornerstone international crime of ecocide that demonstrates a significant belief in international criminal law’s regulatory prospects. However, the proposed definition lacks the necessary rationale, and the architects of the draft hardly offer legal practitioners any [...]
