The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday has temporarily reinstated Texas’ six-week abortion ban after a lower court had blocked the law just two days earlier. The controversial law was blocked by Judge Robert Pitman on Wednesday after a complaint was filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Pitman found that the law would [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a press release on Friday warning of the possibility of an imminent attack by the Myanmar military against its opponents. In the release, OHCHR noted that there had been a build-up of heavy weapons and troops by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military, in [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 41, Genetic Information Privacy Act, into law on Wednesday, requiring direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies to provide information and obtain consumers’ express consent regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of genetic data. “At-home DNA tests have provided people with the ability to seek meaningful connections to long-lost family or their [...]

The UN Human Rights Council approved a resolution Thursday to appoint, for one year, a Special Rapporteur to monitor the status of human rights in Afghanistan as it evolves. The Council adopted the resolution introduced by the European Union with 28 votes in favor, 14 abstentions, and five votes against, including China, Pakistan, and Russia. [...]

The United Human Rights Council recognized a “safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment” as a fundamental human right on Friday.  The resolution first proposed in the 1990s will implement the right to a healthy environment and introduce a Special Rapporteur to establish these changes. The text proposed by countries including the Maldives and Morocco passed [...]

The Grand national assembly of Turkey ratified Wednesday the Paris agreement on climate change, a move coming nearly six years after it originally signed the agreement. However, as the last G20 country to ratify the agreement, Turkey is still dissatisfied with its classification as a developed country under the agreement. Despite signing the agreement in 2016, [...]

The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) found on Wednesday that the app store rules by Apple are anti-competitive due to regulations requiring software developers to use Apple’s in-app payments, according to a report by Reuters. The US company’s policy requires app developers to use their in-app functions, which can have commissions up to [...]

JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Here, a lawyer in Kabul offers his observations and perspective on recent developments, including a new Taliban agreement with Iran on border, transport and trade and oil matters. For [...]

Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio signed a bill Friday that abolishes the death penalty in the country. The new law makes Sierra Leone the 23rd African country to officially abolish the death penalty.  Previously, the country’s legal regime allowed the death penalty for those convicted of murder, treason, mutiny, or aggravated robbery. Sierra Leone’s [...]

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday the establishment of the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education (“the Council”) during a visit to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The Council’s mission is to educate students in California about the holocaust and other similar genocidal acts in history to prepare them to recognize and [...]