The US Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision Thursday that a Texas death row inmate has the right to sue over the state’s laws governing DNA testing. The majority opinion was written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of capital murder in 1998. Since 2010, he has been unsuccessfully requesting DNA testing [...]

The UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) expressed concern Friday after visiting Peru, where it observed serious issues, such as prison overcrowding and lengthy pretrial detention. It also noted a controversial new law that treats 16- and 17-year-old juveniles as adults within the penal system. The Congress of the Republic of Peru recently [...]

The UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Central African Republic called Thursday for urgent institutional reform of the country’s electoral authority, warning that its persistent internal dysfunction has led to ineffectiveness and a risk of missing important deadlines for holding the 2025 elections. Yao Agbetse, who reports to the UN Human Rights [...]

Rights groups have criticized recent US sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), its staff, and those cooperating with it, including the ICC prosecutor and four judges. The coalition of international legal organizations, consisting of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, Judges for Judges and Lawyers’ [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday warned that a newly enacted law in Ecuador threatens the rights and protections of children, particularly those recruited or used by organized crime groups. The Public Integrity Law, passed by the National Assembly on June 24 and signed by President Daniel Noboa the following day, introduces sweeping punitive measures [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management that the members of the US Preventive Services Task Force were properly appointed under Article II of the Constitution, preserving preventive care requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A group of Christian-owned businesses sued the task force, claiming that the preventive care mandates [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday reported that Kyrgyzstan’s parliament has passed two bills that allow the authorities to restrict media activities without judicial oversight and merge the country’s main anti-torture body with the ombudsman’s office, threatening both media freedom and protection from torture. The organization urged the Kyrgyz president to veto these laws, stating [...]

In a 6-3 ruling released Friday, the US Supreme Court found that a universal-service contribution scheme does not violate the nondelegation doctrine, which restricts Congress’ ability to delegate its power to federal agencies, private companies, or the other two branches of government. Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan described respondent Consumers’ Research’s reading of [...]

Two national immigrants’ rights organizations filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship. The filing comes just hours after the US Supreme Court issued a decision limiting the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions against federal policies, while leaving open the door [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) commended Vietnam’s National Assembly on Friday for its decision to abolish the death penalty for eight criminal offenses while also urging additional action. While hailing the partial abolition as a “historic vote,” the OHCHR called on the country to take further steps by abolishing [...]