The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on Thursday urged Guatemala to “adopt all necessary measures to fully ensure that judges and magistrates perform their duties with full independence and guarantees.” The UN Special Rapporteur specifically referenced the government’s refusal to allow the head of the International Commission against Impunity in [...]
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Wednesday that a British man charged with murder, rape and arson in the EU must still face trial although Brexit will nullify most other legal bonds his country shares with the EU. The British national, identified as only “RO” in court documents, allegedly committed murder, rape and arson [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Colorado ruled Wednesday that US officials may not deny the passport application of an intersex individual based on the individual’s refusal to select a male or female gender marker. In September 2014 Dana Alix Zzyym applied for a US passport. Instead of checking the [...]
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday denied an application to block a federal judge’s decision requiring more disclosure from super PACs. The decision vacates Chief Justice John Roberts’ order to stay the lower court ruling. The petitioner, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a conservative political action committee, submitted the application to stay the district court’s order, arguing [...]
The High Court of Islamabad on Wednesday ordered the release of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, suspending his prison sentence. Bail was set at 500,000 rupees. The suspension is to remain in place until a final adjudication is made regarding an appeal filed by Sharif in July. This is the latest development regarding multiple corruption [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday overturned a district court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by server and bartender employees alleging they were paid “tipped” wages for performing non-tipped duties in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) . Under the “dual jobs” provision of the FLSA, employers [...]
Amnesty International (AI) launched a new campaign Tuesday called “Egypt: Open Air Prison for Critics,” to raise awareness of the current situation in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi , who came to power after the 2013 coup. In 2013, amid political turmoil, many protests erupted calling for then-president Mohamed Morsi to step down. In [...]
The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced Tuesday that it will grant visas to eligible individuals filing as dependent spouses/partners who seek to immigrate to the city. According to the Immigration Department, the new policy applies to individuals who entered same-sex civil partnerships, same-sex civil unions and same-sex marriages as well as opposite-sex [...]
Judge Amy Totenberg of the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled Monday that Georgia will be permitted to go forward with the use of its electronic voting machines, despite security warnings from voting technology experts. The ruling comes in a 2017 lawsuit filed by Georgia voters and election security organizations who [...]
The Honduras Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspended the murder trial of eight men accused of killing Honduran environmental rights activist Berta Cáceres. Cáceres was killed inside her home in 2016. There is believed to have been collusion between state security forces and Desarrollos Energeticos SA, the company in charge of a hydroelectric project that [...]
