The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on Thursday detailing human rights violations that occurred during the early parts of the investigation into the kidnapping of 43 students from Ayotzinapa in Mexico. The OHCHR’s report covers human rights violations from September 2014 to January 2016 committed by the [...]

The Kyoto District Court ruled Thursday that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) , which operated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, was liable to voluntary evacuees in the sum of USD $1 million for failing to take adequate measures to protect the plant from the tsunami. Presiding Judge Nobuyoshi Asami noted a 2002 government [...]

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a report on Thursday condemning the pervasive sexual and gender-based violence that has occurred over the past six and a half years in the Syrian conflict. The report, entitled “I lost my dignity: Sexual and gender-based violence in the Syrian Arab Republic,” was written after UN workers [...]

The US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Ohio’s recently proposed HB 214 , a bill which criminalizes the performance of an abortion procedure where a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy is partly or wholly motivated by a diagnosis of Down syndrome [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration Thursday for its “arbitrary detention” of asylum seekers. All of the plaintiffs named in the case are asylum seekers fleeing persecution, torture or death in their home countries. All of them have also passed fear screenings, meaning that their fear of [...]

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 407-10 to approve HR 4909 , a bill that seeks to increase funding for security and safety in schools. Titled “STOP School Violence Act of 2018,” the bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (the Omnibus Act). Among other things, the bill [...]

Indiana’s House approved a bill Wednesday that lifts prohibitions that kept those previously protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from obtaining professional licenses for dozens of occupations including cosmetology and nursing. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor Eric Holcomb who recently expressed his support for the bill. In addition [...]

The US Senate on Tuesday approved the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act , which implements several changes to the laws implemented following the 2008 financial crisis. The purpose of the bill is: “To promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory re- lief, and enhance consumer protections, and for other purposes.” The bill ultimately [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a Texas law banning sanctuary cities. The law, Senate Bill 4 (SB4) , “prohibits local authorities from limiting their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and it requires local officers to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (‘ICE’) detainer requests.” The court held that [...]

The Supreme Court of India ruled Tuesday that foreign lawyers cannot practice law within the country. Parties included both law firms and individual lawyers from the UK, US, France and Australia. The court noted that Under the Advocates Act of 1961 , foreign lawyers cannot practice law in India without reciprocity. To be eligible to [...]