The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassaid to consider a California agricultural union organizing law. The case concerns whether “the uncompensated appropriation of an easement that is limited in time affects a per se physical taking under the Fifth Amendment.” Under California law, agricultural businesses must allow labor organizations [...]

The former chief of staff for ex-Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, was arraigned in court Saturday on charges of money-laundering, fraud and corruption. The charges were brought following a magisterial inquiry into payment of €650,000 from Schembri to the former managing director of Allied Newspapers, Ltd., Adrian Hillman, when the news company had [...]

The US, Canada, EU and UK sanctioned Chinese government officials on Monday for what Canada’s Global Affairs described as “gross and systematic human rights violations.” Canada’s sanctions are against four officials and one entity that have been linked to human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, particularly against Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic [...]

The EU sanctioned two Russian individuals Monday for their alleged human rights abuses including persecuting, detaining and torturing LGBTQ individuals in the Chechen Republic. Officials from the Chechen government have been repeatedly accused by international governments and human rights groups, like Human Rights Watch, of detaining, torturing and extrajudicially executing members of the Chechen LGBTQ [...]

The Arkansas House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill that prevents transgender women from competing in women’s sports at all levels of education. Titled the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” the legislation applies to “a public elementary school or secondary school; an open enrollment public charter school; and a public two-year or four-year institution [...]

The Central Government of India has urged the Delhi High Court to restrain WhatsApp Inc. from implementing its contentious new privacy policy that has drawn criticism from regulatory bodies, digital rights advocates and general citizens alike. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told the court Friday that WhatsApp’s privacy policy violates the Information Technology Rules [...]

China on Monday blacklisted 10 EU individuals and four entities in retaliation to Brussels’ package of sanctions against Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in the western region of Xinjiang. The Chinese government sanctioned Reinhard Bütikofer, chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with China, and Michael Gahler, chair of the European Parliament-Taiwan [...]

Federal prosecutor Michael Sherwin admitted in an interview aired on Sunday that evidence is “trending towards” charging some Capitol rioters with the crime of sedition. According to 18 USC § 2384, seditious conspiracy occurs “if any two or more persons … conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the [...]

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the implementation of personal sanctions on former president Viktor Yanukovych and 26 others on Friday. The sanctions will bar the 27 individuals from accessing assets and property within Ukraine and withdrawing money from Ukrainian bank accounts, among other penalties. Zelenskyy also called on Europe and the UK to impose sanctions. [...]

The European Commission referred the UK to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Friday over failing to recover illegal state aid received by corporations in Gibraltar. In 2012, Spain raised concerns about unfair taxation practices by Gibraltar. The following year, the Commission launched an investigation into the allegations. Shortly afterwards, the UK submitted an [...]