The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down “Marsy’s Law,” a victims’ rights amendment that would have added a new provision to Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The amendment includes provisions for the right to be notified about and present at proceedings against the perpetrator, the right to be involved in release and sentencing of [...]

JURIST is launching a new series of dispatches from major US states written by JURIST correspondents “on the ground” in those jurisdictions. JURIST Operations Director Ram Eachambadi files this report from Los Angeles. A day after the US Supreme Court’s refusal to block Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) for the second time, California Governor Gavin [...]

The Supreme Court on Friday refused for a second time to block Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8), which bans abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, in what may seem like a misleading 8-1 vote in favor of abortion providers’ attempts to challenge the law. The reason the 8-1 vote is misleading stems from [...]

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury on Tuesday added 15 individuals across Iran, Syria and Uganda to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on allegations of “serious human rights abuse and repressive acts targeting innocent civilians, political opponents, and peaceful protestors.” Additionally, the OFAC has also designated four [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday ordered provisional measures regarding the Armenian government’s allegations of racial hatred and discrimination against Azerbaijan instructing it to protect and ensure the safety and security of Armenian prisoners of wars (POWs), and prevent incitement of violence against individuals of Armenian origin. Additionally, by a 13-2 vote, the [...]

The governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, UK, and US have released a joint statement condemning the mass detention of individuals in Ethiopia on the basis of their ethnicity and without due process. The statement declared that the Ethiopian government’s announcement of a state of emergency last month provides no justification for such detentions. The [...]

Rohingya refugees in the US and UK on Monday filed a coordinated lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Facebook”) alleging the social media giant’s “inaction and support of hate speech, misinformation, and incitement of violence fostered the 10-year genocide of the Rohingya Muslims.” The suit was filed by Chicago-based Edelson PC and seeks to apply Myanmar law [...]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Patel v. Garland (“the immigration case”) asking whether a federal court can review a decision by an agency within the Department of Justice ruling that a person is ineligible for permanent residency and in Hughes v. Northwestern University (“the fiduciary case”) requesting clarification regarding the fiduciary obligation [...]

Thousands have blocked roads across Serbia to protest against two newly enacted laws that environmentalists argue will let foreign companies exploit local resources. The Serbian government has offered mineral resource projects to several companies including the China-based Sijin and UK-based Rio Tinto, which environmentalists are concerned will pollute land and water in the country. The [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the establishment of the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education (“the Council”) during a visit to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The Council’s mission is to educate students in California about the holocaust and other similar genocidal acts in history to prepare them to recognize and [...]