The U.S. Supreme Court last week issued its first ruling against coronavirus containment measures, invoking the First Amendment’s guarantee of free exercise of religion to enjoin an executive order by New York’s governor limiting attendance at religious services to 10 or 25 persons in areas classified as having a high risk for infections. The Court’s [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court injunction that had blocked a North Carolina law requiring voters to present photo identification. In 2018 North Carolina voters approved a state constitutional amendment (Art. VI sec. 2(4)) requiring in-person voters to “present photographic identification before voting.” The same year, [...]

The District Court of The Hague began hearings against Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday in a case brought by 17,379 co-plaintiffs and seven Dutch climate activist groups. The co-plaintiffs, led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie), are demanding that Shell reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 levels, and [...]

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that New Zealand will extend paid sick leave from five days to 10 days. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood is to bring the bill to extend paid sick leave to the parliament in the coming weeks. Wood cited difficulties arising from COVID-19 sick leave policies as [...]

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 Trump campaign filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, alleging that approximately 221,000 ballots were affected by absentee voting abuse. More than three million ballots were cast in Wisconsin during the general election. Wisconsin finished a partial recount of the votes on Sunday, and Governor Tony Evers formally certified Joe Biden’s victory [...]

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 [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard cases involving when American corporations can be sued, and when they can sue. The first case, Nestle v. John Doe I, et al., considers whether an American corporation can be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) for human rights abuses that occur outside of the US. [...]

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 [...]