On March 12, 2021, the Biden Administration designated Myanmar for temporary protective status (TPS). DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “Due to the military coup and security forces’ brutal violence against civilians, the people of Burma are suffering a complex and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country.” A few days earlier, Venezuela was [...]

The recent review of the U.S. human rights record at the United Nations through the Universal Periodic Review process yielded 347 recommendations for improvement, 80% of which the U.S. accepted. Among them were several urging the U.S. to rescind a Trump-era executive order targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) and those who support it. Just [...]

Many state governors’ actions related to quelling the COVID-19 in Brazil appear to neglect constitutional provisions. So much so that many states’ Governors of the Brazilian Federation decided to adopt lockdown, despite the fact that the World Health Organization itself has already concluded that lockdown is not the primary measure aimed at combating the terrible [...]

For many states, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPSs) are a primary method of reducing energy-related emissions and promoting clean energy. RPSs are strengthened in several different ways, and the technology they aim to promote varies between states. The most effective method for achieving the goals of RPSs is directly increasing the clean-energy percentage goals they set [...]

In 2006 as the Human Rights Council was being set up, I wrote an opinion piece on this website in which I shared, among other aspects, my impressions as to how the Council would shape up. Experience thus far produced mixed assessment. The transition from the Commission to the Council took a couple of years, [...]

In a ground-breaking decision, the Islamabad High Court in Pakistan has explicitly recognized that animals have natural legal rights and are entitled to protection under the nation’s Constitution. Non-human animals are still commonly treated as “property” around the world, which places them in a similar legal category as inanimate objects. Although problematic for many reasons [...]

Governor Cuomo is in hot water on three fronts: the COVID-19 limitation of liability for nursing homes order he did, the undercounting/reporting of nursing home deaths, and the sexual harassment in the workplace and otherwise. This note will focus on the hypocrisy with respect to the first of these: the COVID-19 limitation of liability for [...]

Whether it is “investing” in meme stocks like GameStop or rushing to a convenience store to purchase a chance at winning a $1 billion Mega Millions jackpot, Americans are hungry for an opportunity to get rich fast.  After all, it has not helped that Congress continues to drag its feet in providing economic relief to [...]

Abstract: In principle, especially during a rare historical moment of extra-terrestrial exploration and immunological control, our species ought to render itself capable of managing nuclear threats. Prima facie, after all, the difficulties of transporting complex instrumentation to Mars and simultaneously fashioning effective vaccines against deadly pathogens should exceed even the most complex challenges of international peace. Nonetheless, [...]

On 16th February 2021, the Supreme Court of India asked the Central Government to take measures to regulate content on over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India asked the Indian Government to submit a reply to the Public Interest Litigation seeking the [...]