The European Council on Friday imposed sanctions on Russian officials and entities linked to the death of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny. The sanctions were introduced under the EU’s current Global Human Rights Sanction Regime, including an asset freeze, prohibitions on the provision of funds or economic resources, and a travel ban to the EU. [...]
The German Bundestrat approved the Cannabis Act Friday to decriminalize limited personal cannabis consumption and cultivation, allowing the act to go into effect on April 1. The act was previously approved by the Bundestag in February. The act seeks to better regulate cannabis consumption and combat organized crime. The act requires a cultivation association to [...]
The Hong Kong Legislative Council unanimously voted in favour of the new Safeguarding National Security Bill on Tuesday. The bill will be gazetted and come into effect on March 23. The bill consists of nine parts. It criminalises several national security offences that are listed in Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law but [...]
The Hong Kong District Court jailed 12 activists on Saturday, with sentences ranging from 54 months to 82 months, for their previous riot convictions. Judge Li Zhihao reasoned that the case was particularly serious because the Legislative Council Complex enjoys “a unique constitutional status and symbolizing meaning” and the activists destroyed the complex with the [...]
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance dismissed an application for judicial review on Friday to challenge the real-name registration regime for SIM card users. The court held that the regime is not “unreasonable” and warrants no interference from the court. The Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation requires licensed telecommunications companies to record their [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada clarified on Friday the scope of judicial review for tribunal decisions, holding that judicial review is available even when a statutory right to appeal from tribunal decisions is limited to pure questions of law. The case involved an insurance dispute. The insurer refused to pay accident benefits to the claimant, [...]
The European Parliament on Wednesday adopted the Media Freedom Act to protect journalists and press freedoms. The new law was adopted with 464 votes in favor, 92 against and 65 abstentions. The act forbids EU member states from compelling journalists to disclose their sources and deploying surveillance spyware against journalists. A new European Board for [...]
The UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution on Friday, calling on all parties involved in the conflict in Sudan to immediately cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and negotiate for a sustainable resolution. The ongoing internal armed conflict between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces [...]
The Hong Kong government released the new national security bill on Friday and sent it to the Legislative Council (LegCo) for deliberation. The bill consists of nine parts, including criminalizing several national security offenses not covered in the 2020 National Security Law but listed in Article 23 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. The bill [...]
Italy detained a German non-governmental rescue vessel Humanity 1 for 20 days, after the Libyan Coast Guard intervened in the rescue operation with armed forces. SOS Humanity, the German search and rescue organisation, contended that the Italian authorities detained the ship based on false accusations and demanded the ship be released immediately. The captain of [...]
