A Florida appeals court Wednesday held that the University of South Florida (USF) cannot invoke sovereign immunity to avoid a COVID-19 student fees lawsuit. USF appealed a trial court’s denial of “its motion to dismiss in which it asserted the defense of sovereign immunity.” USF argued in its appeal that sovereign immunity should apply, which [...]
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin Wednesday ruled that a Milwaukee-based coffee roster cannot file property insurance claims for COVID-19-related income losses. The case stemmed from a dispute between Colectivo Coffee Roasters and their property insurer, Society Insurance. Under the insurance policy, Society would pay for “direct physical loss of or damage” that occurs to Colectivo’s [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit challenging a federal judge’s April order that overturned the federal public transportation mask mandate. The Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) implemented the federal mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The federal mask [...]
The UK Government Friday released a policy paper explaining revisions to the Ministerial Code, a set of guidelines for the conduct of its ministers. The changes relax the consequences for minor violations of the code and expand the role of the independent advisor, an executive appointee responsible for advising the prime minister on code violations. [...]
Amnesty International Tuesday released its annual Report on Death Sentences and Executions which noted a sharp increase in executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia while describing global use of the death penalty between January and December 2021. The report reflects that there was a rise in executions and death sentences in 2021 after Covid-19 restrictions [...]
The arguments made by the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry for limited regulation and rapid deployment of self-driving car technology bear a striking resemblance to the discussion about the US regulatory response to Covid-19 vaccines. Both appeal to exigent circumstances as a reason for rapid action to save lives, even if that means throwing some precautions [...]
In India, with the daily Covid-19 cases plummeting about 90 percent from the peak of the first wave last year, the pandemic appeared to be under control by March 2021. In April 2021, however, India saw the world’s worst second wave, with new cases exceeding 400,000 a day, breaking the world record for the most [...]
The recent return of the military to the national political scene happens in a moment in which the democratic regimes, in Brazil and in the world, suffer the decline of trust in liberal-democratic institutions. The current militarization has been associated by some authors with a current global, systemic and structural conjecture with variations, from a [...]
The government of the state of Meghalaya introduced a policy that made it compulsory for individuals to get vaccinated before they resume work. The policy was declared unconstitutional by the High Court of Meghalaya in June 2021 on the basis that it violated a myriad of fundamental rights including the right to privacy, right to [...]
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 [...]
