Ontario Integrity Commissioner Jonathan Batty and Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk Wednesday announced separate investigations into the provincial Conservative government’s controversial decision to open protected Greenbelt lands to housing developments. The investigations come amidst concerns that the Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford tipped off housing developers in advance of the decision and fears that the [...]

The Supreme Court of India Wednesday agreed to modify its 2018 judgement legalising passive euthanasia in the country, setting plans in motion to make the authorisation process easier. The petition initiating this case was filed by Common Cause, a civil society organization behind the legal crusade to legalise passive euthanasia. The organisation filed another petition [...]

Following a decision of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka last week ordering top former authorities, including former president Mathripala Sirisena, to compensate the victims of the Easter Sunday Attack in 2019, spokesperson Jeremy Laurence of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged the Sri Lankan government to provide full compensation to [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Wednesday accused the Rwandan government of manipulating the country’s justice system to stifle free speech, citing the conviction of Rwandan opposition politician Théophile Ntirutwa, a member of the unregistered Dalfa-Umurinzi opposition party. The High Court’s Rwamagana chamber sentenced Ntirutwa last month to seven years in prison for “spreading false information or harmful [...]

The Israel Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that Vice Prime Minister Aryeh Deri is ineligible to hold public office. Chief Justice Esther Hayut’s majority opinion rules that the court must intervene in Deri’s appointment. She explained that, while the court should only intervene in political appointments in extreme circumstances, Deri’s appointment goes beyond reasonability. Deri’s “backlog [...]

Victoria, Australia Attorney General Jaclyn Symes Tuesday told reporters that police will not be given additional powers once the recently enacted decriminalization of public intoxication reforms go into effect. Symes acknowledged that implementing more powers would undermine the decriminalization. That said, Symes said that even without additional powers, police will work with stakeholders to ensure [...]

The Dutch Senate Tuesday voted 56-15 to amend the Constitution to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and disability in a major victory for Dutch LGBTQ+ and disability rights activists. The Senate voted on a proposal  to amend Article 1 of the Constitution which reads: All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated [...]

The Indian Supreme Court Monday ruled that bail granted under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure can be revoked even if the investigating agency failed to complete the investigation and file a chargesheet within the given timeframe if the accused has committed a non-bailable offense and a strong case is made out against [...]

The Pacific Island Forum Wednesday expressed concern in a public seminar over Japan’s plans to discharge radioactive waste from reactors damaged in the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean. Secretary General Henry Puna discussed the findings of an independent panel of experts on Japan’s plan and claimed that Japan’s assertion of safety lacks scientific [...]

The Philippine Court of Tax Appeals Wednesday acquitted Nobel-winning journalist Maria Ressa and her news website Rappler of tax evasion charges. According to the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), the maximum sentence for the four tax charges amounted to 34 years in prison. Hold The Line Coalition (HTL), a group of Ressa supporters, welcomed the [...]