The Court of Appeal for Ontario on Wednesday affirmed the damages award of $30 million in a class action lawsuit against Ontario for mistreatment of inmates in solitary confinement, finding that the administrative segregation was negligent and in violation of inmates’ constitutional rights. The use of administrative segregation in correctional facilities in Ontario constitutes solitary [...]
The US Department of State released the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Secretary of State Antony Blinken painted a grave picture of the deterioration of human rights in multiple countries and regions throughout the world. The 2020 reports highlight abuses in Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, among many other countries. The report for China is [...]
The UK House of Lords’ Select Committee on the Constitution published a report that found the backlog of cases in the Crown Court to have reached “crisis levels.” While the backlog was significant before COVID-19 interrupted the usual operations of the justice system, the pandemic was found to have increased it to reach “crisis levels.” According [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement Wednesday condemning abuses attributable to Russian security contractors in the Central African Republic (CAR) and expressing concern over the proximity of human rights abuses to UN peacekeepers. The UN experts, including members of the Working Group on the use of mercenaries [...]
Jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny announced in a handwritten letter posted to social media on March 31 that he is going on a hunger strike to protest his lack of adequate medical treatment and sleep deprivation that amounts to torture at the IK-2 prison in Pokrov. Navalny was sentenced in February to 2 1/2 years [...]
The UK Court of Appeal on Tuesday pronounced a landmark judgement expected to guide the family court’s approach towards allegations of domestic abuse. The case, Re H-N and Others (children), was concerning four appeals involving the welfare of children where allegations of domestic abuse had been made by at least one parent against the other. [...]
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday confirmed by majority Trial Chamber I’s acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé of all four counts of crimes against humanity. Gbagbo, Ivory Coast’s former president, and former minister Blé Goudé, had faced the charges for their alleged role in post-election violence in the [...]
The UK’s Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published a report on Tuesday of its findings from a two-week independent inquiry into the Metropolitan Police’s response to the Sarah Everard vigil. Its report found that the police “acted appropriately.” The report noted the significant public concern following the killing of [...]
The European Commission announced Wednesday that it was referring the Republic of Poland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the adoption of laws that allegedly undermine the independence of judges. The Commission further requested that the ECJ order interim measures seeking the suspension of some provisions of the law until a final judgment [...]
A Paris court on Monday found pharmaceutical giant Servier guilty of “aggravated fraud” and “involuntary manslaughter” over its diabetes and weight loss pill, Mediator. The drug is blamed for hundreds of deaths, in what is the biggest medical scandal in France’s history. The court fined Servier €2.7 million and ordered the company to pay hundreds [...]
