India Chief Correspondent Neelabh Bist reports on recent steps taken in the Indian high court system to conduct physical proceedings again after a period of COVID-19 shutdown in favor of virtual appearances, stressing that reversion is critical for the survival of some young professionals and financially less well-off lawyers. He files this for JURIST from [...]

The UK on Monday imposed tighter sanctions on Belarus in a bid to repress its totalitarian regime. The sanctions, which were effected by an amendment to the Republic of Belarus(sanctions)(EU Exit) Regulations 2019, include aviation, trade, and economic measures.  These sanctions are subsequent to a joint designation imposed in June this year by the UK, [...]

The Central Government of India introduced Monday a bill that would empower state governments to specify socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) in the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposes to amend Article 342A of the Constitution of India, which gives the power to specify [...]

Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation (APIB) filed a statement before the International Criminal Court (ICC) Monday requesting an investigation into alleged genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro. The complaint centres on “systematic and anti-indigenous” social and environmental policies enacted by Bolsonaro since his term began in January 2019, exasperated during the [...]

The Biden administration issued an executive order Monday blocking the property of individuals contributing to the authoritarian regime in Belarus. The order expands on a prior executive order from June of 2006. It draws its legitimacy from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, National Emergency Act the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and Section [...]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its preliminary report on the causes and effects of climate change on Monday. The report shows “unequivocally” that human action is the cause of climate change, and that the effects are direr than previously thought. The IPCC said that limiting global warming to “2ºC will be beyond [...]

The US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled on Sunday that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd. (NCLH), a cruise ship company, can enforce proof of vaccine requirements before boarding, delivering a blow to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘s plan to ban “vaccine passports” within the state. In arriving at her judgment, Judge Kathleen Williams stated [...]

The US Department of State designated on Friday five terrorist leaders in Africa as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The SDGTs include Bonomade Machude Omar, Sidan ag Hitta, Salem ould Breihmatt, Ali Mohamed Rage, and Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir. Omar, who leads the ISIS-Mozambique Military and External Affairs Departments, has coordinated and lead several terrorist attacks, [...]

The United States imposed visa restrictions on 50 relatives of Nicaraguan lawmakers, prosecutors, and judges, the State Department announced on Friday. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth term, and the election is in November. Ortega’s government has been detaining top opposition contenders ahead of the election. Within the past two months, Ortega’s government arrested [...]

The controversial Grassy Mountain Coal Project has been effectively shelved following a decision from Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson. In a statement released Friday, Wilkinson determined that proposed open-pit coal mines in the Crowsnest Pass region of Alberta would likely “cause significant adverse environmental effects” as defined by subsections 5(1) [...]