A panel of the High Court for England and Wales ruled on Monday that children under the age of 16 are probably not capable of providing informed consent when being prescribed puberty-blocking drugs to address gender dysphoria. As such, the high court suspended such clinical treatment for children below 16 unless the parties are able [...]

Three Hong Hong democracy activists were sentenced to prison Wednesday for their involvement in 2019 antigovernment protests. Activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 13 months in prison for his specific role in protests at a Hong Kong police station. Wong’s comrade Agnes Chow was sentenced to 10 months in prison while another associate, Ivan Lam, [...]

The New Zealand Parliament passed new legislation Tuesday to allow drug and substance testing services to operate legally over the summer festival season. The Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill was passed by a majority of 86-33. The bill will amend the existing Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 (the 1975 Act) and the Psychoactive Substances Act [...]

After a week of protests, the French government agreed Monday to revise Legislative Proposal No.3452 on Global Security. The provision that is especially contentious is Article 24, which criminalises publication of pictures of law enforcement with the intent to do harm. The bill’s explanatory statement was to prevent malicious use of photos related to law-enforcement [...]

New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020 came into effect Tuesday, repealing and replacing the 1993 Act. The Act has numerous amended provisions to keep pace with the fast-changing world of technology and its consequent impact on privacy. Section 3 brings out the Act’s purpose, which is to promote and protect individual privacy by protecting an individual’s right [...]

The Karnataka High Court in India ruled Friday that the right to marry a person of choice irrespective of caste or religion is a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. This is is a reaffirmation of a 2011 ruling by the Supreme Court of India. The case arose after a woman was held in confinement [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday accused Tanzanian authorities of violating the rights of Burundian refugees. The report states that at least 18 refugees and asylum seekers have been abused since 2019, while also mentioning that the location of some who were forcibly disappeared remains unknown. “Between October 2019 and August 2020, Tanzanian police and intelligence [...]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao has refused to apologize for tweeting a fake image depicting Australian war crimes following an Australian Defence Force (ADF) report alleging Australian soldiers were involved in the murder of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2009 and 2013. The fake image depicts an Australian soldier with a bloody knife [...]

The European Court of Human Rights ordered the governments of 33 European countries Monday to respond to a milestone climate change lawsuit brought by six young Portuguese climate activists. The court ordered all 33 governments, including the EU27, plus Ukraine, Turkey, the UK, Switzerland, Russia and Norway, to respond to the lawsuit by February 23. According [...]

Swiss voters on Sunday rejected measures that would have heightened penalties against Switzerland-based companies that violate UN human rights mandates or harm the environment abroad. The proposal, titled “Responsible companies — to protect people and the environment,” was aimed at introducing new statutory obligations for Swiss businesses. It initially won by a narrow majority of [...]