On December 22, 2022, the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol released its 845-page Final Report. The Report described events leading up to, during, and in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. It also set out information about the individuals who were involved [...]
Recently, Thailand passed an important human rights law following significant pressure from many parties including NGOs, victims of torture, relatives of the dead and missing, and investigative journalists. On 24 October 2022, the King signed into law the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances Act which Parliament enacted on 26 August 2022. This [...]
In 2013, the United Nations (UN) established the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to address conflict in the Sahel region. Support for MINUSMA, the deadliest UN mission, has declined, especially after Western leaders have increasingly focused on the Russian intervention in Ukraine. In fact, several Western countries have announced their withdrawal from MUNUSMA, [...]
JURIST Features Editor Ingrid Burke Friedman talked with Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti about the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti. Below is a transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for clarity. Could you please tell us more about your [...]
Recent concerns about leaks of US Supreme Court decisions and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself in a case that might involve connections to his wife, Virginia Thomas, have spurred calls for a code of ethics for US Supreme Court justices. Although the Judicial Conference of the United States promulgated a Code of Conduct [...]
In the United States and throughout the Global North, people generally take for granted that law means state courts and legal institutions. Sure, people may opt out of certain government regulations, for example, by signing an arbitration agreement, but state courts can still step in if deemed necessary. This may all seem intuitive but globally [...]
On October 12, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a copyright case that could reshape the future of the nation’s copyright regime. Renowned photographer Lynn Goldsmith, who captured portraits of the rock star Prince that Andy Warhol later used to create the iconic Prince series, filed the suit. In 1984, Vanity Fair [...]
The Supreme Court of India recently delivered a judgment in Janhit Abhiyan v. Union of India upholding the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019, creating a regime for income-based affirmative action in state-run educational institutions and state-sponsored employment programs. This explainer will illuminate the historical underpinnings of India’s affirmative action scheme and explain its legal evolution. [...]
The Honoring our PACT Act was signed into law by President Biden in August of 2022. This landmark legislation included the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (CLJA), which will be consequential for the thousands of victims poisoned by contaminated water – up to 280 times higher than permitted levels – at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune [...]
Since the February 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar, human rights conditions have continued to deteriorate throughout the country. While the current ruling military dictatorship is guilty of causing and/or perpetuating many rights violations, some — such as restrictions on labor rights — had started even before the coup. In this explainer I will look at [...]
