Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sunday called on the government of Sri Lanka to halt plans to resume executions and restore its 43-year moratorium on the use of the death penalty. “Sri Lanka’s plan to resume use of the death penalty is a major setback for human rights. Sri Lanka has been a bulwark against [...]

In a country visit report published Friday, Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Polish government needs to do more to preserve judicial independence, citing “wide-ranging judicial reforms have met with serious concern” from stakeholders. The Commissioner’s report is the culmination of a five day visit in which “the Commissioner [...]

Ontario’s top court ruled Friday that Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is constitutional and has the critical purpose of fighting climate change. The Act，passed by Parliament in 2018，puts a price on carbon pollution in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to encourage innovation and the use of clean technologies. It places a fuel [...]

The European Commission’s High-Level Expert Group on AI (AI HLEG) on Wednesday released a second report about artificial intelligence (AI) development and deployment, specifically aimed at “maximising [] benefits whilst minimising and preventing [] risks.” The report includes 33 recommendations for the EU, focusing on four domains: AI helping in general society, in the private [...]

The Moldovan Constitutional Court announced on Wednesday that all six of its judges were stepping down, ending a deadlock around the legitimacy of a new government made up both of a pro-EU and pro-Russian representatives. The resignations were due to trouble caused be the court’s recent rulings. The court was found to have effectively reduced [...]

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Wednesday quashed former Chief Executive Donald Tsang’s conviction and sentence for misconduct in public office. This case arose when Tsang failed to declare certain dealings with a business tycoon. Tsang was arranging to live in a Shenzhen apartment owned by a company controlled by the business tycoon, but [...]

The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled Wednesday regarding how member states should interpret air quality regulations set up by the Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 (Directive 2008/50) on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe. The judgment is in regard to [...]

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted Wednesday to reinstate the Russian delegation to the Assembly despite criticism over human rights abuses. Russia’s voting rights had been stripped in 2014 in response to the Russian Federation’s annexation of Crimea. Russia in turn paid only one-third of its membership dues that year and has [...]

The EU Court of Justice ruled on Monday that the Polish “Law on the Supreme Court,” lowering the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court, is contrary to EU law and principle. The Polish law on the Supreme Court lowered the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 70 to 65. According to the [...]

US Representatives Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Tuesday introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prohibit funding for US military action against Iran without Congress’ approval. The amendment provides that “no Federal funds may be used for any use of military force in or against Iran unless Congress [...]