New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Hurd Friday allowed a defamation claim against New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to proceed. Former New Jersey Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Christopher Neuwirth filed the defamation complaint, accusing Governor Murphy of spreading a false story that he was terminated for performing outside consulting work without approval. Neuwirth alleges he was actually [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

After three days of Generation Equality Forum meetings in Paris (hosted by the French Government from 30 June to 2 July), the international community launched a Global Acceleration Plan (GAP) for gender equality, driven by six Action Coalitions, the Compact on Women, Peace and Security, and Humanitarian Action. The GAP aims to accelerate gender equality in the [...]

On June 23, 2021, the Meghalaya High Court (HC) ruled in the case of Registrar General, HC of Meghalaya v. State of Meghalaya that “The mandatory or forced vaccinations violate the individuals’ fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21.” The court elucidated that a coercive policy of vaccination has no force in law and should be declared [...]

While the entire world is in the grips of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 62 co-sponsor countries including India, South Africa, and Indonesia have recently given a revised draft proposal for waiving the Intellectual Property (“IP”) rights of COVID vaccines to the TRIPS Council of the World Trade Organisation (“WTO”), seeking a patent waiver for manufacturing [...]

After successfully flattening the curve in late 2020, India witnessed a horrific resurgence of cases. Many attributed this to the “policy casualness” of the government of India, and the lack of effective measures taken by it to ensure social distancing and the wearing of masks. As restrictions were lifted, sights of holiday-goers reaching jam-packed airports [...]