German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann announced Tuesday that the German legislature must take action to protect disabled patients and patients with pre-existing conditions in the event of triage caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Buschmann’s proclamation comes after an identical ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court. The Federal Constitutional Court consists of sixteen justices divided [...]

Former President Donald Trump appealed to the Supreme Court Thursday to block the release of certain documents to the House of Representatives January 6th Committee. In the course of its investigation, the Committee requested presidential records related to the events of January 6th, 2021, and Trump’s claims of election fraud. Trump argues that a federal [...]

Seoul-based rights group Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) released a report Wednesday on human rights abuses in North Korea. The report, titled “Mapping Killings under Kim Jong-un: North Korea’s Response to International Pressure” pulls information from six years of research and 683 escapee interviews to track killing sites, mass graves, and other locations which may contain [...]

The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, ruled Wednesday to resolve procedural issues in favor of six nonprofit groups in their case against oil giant Total Uganda. Six French and Ugandan civil society organizations (CSOs) brought the case against Total in 2019: Friends of the Earth France, Survie, Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), CRED, [...]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Sunday announced that his administration will introduce legislation to require social media companies to have “proper processes” to take down abusive or trolling content to dismantle the “shield of anonymity” that emboldens bigots online. In a press conference broadcast by ABC Australia, Morrison asserted that all people should feel safe online. [...]

Voters in Switzerland approved Sunday the government’s new COVID-19 measures in a referendum. In September 2020, the Swiss Parliament passed the COVID-19 Act to respond to the global medical crisis and protect the Swiss economy. In March 2021, Parliament altered the Act to include contact tracing, government-supported testing, and “expanded financial support to those affected by [...]

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan Monday voiced concerns over freedom of media and expression in Hungary after an official visit. Khan attributes freedom of expression issues to overbroad government regulatory authority and financial control over media and lack of journalist access to information, among other sources. The purpose [...]

Content Warning: the following story discusses the sexual assault of children. The Supreme Court of India Thursday overturned a judgement by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay and ruled that sexual assault under the Protection of Children of Sexual Offense Act (POSCO) does not require “skin to skin contact.” The Supreme Court examined two [...]

The European Commission Wednesday proposed a new regulation to curb the export of waste to third-party countries. In a statement, Executive Vice-President for European Green Deal Frans Timmermans said, “our new rules to govern waste shipments will boost the circular economy and ensure that waste exports do not harm the environment or human health elsewhere.” [...]

Steve Bannon, the former White House Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to former President Donald Trump, surrendered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Monday morning. The Justice Department charged Bannon Friday with contempt of Congress after he failed to attend a deposition and refused to turn over documents subpoenaed by the January 6 Committee. The congressional [...]