Lawyers and legal experts expressed concern on Sunday that the UK’s consideration of leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) after the settlement of Brexit could result in a deterioration of human rights. The letter was signed by more than 50 prominent members of the legal field. The criticism rested heavily on statements made [...]

The 2014 trial of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi failed to meet international fair trial standards, according to a UN report published Tuesday. The UN “closely monitored” the proceedings and conducted individual investigations with integral parties. The report recognized efforts made by the government to elevate standards, one being the decision to live broadcast the trial. However, [...]

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Monday that prosecutors can seek the death penalty during an ongoing case despite constitutional concerns with Florida’s death penalty law. Last October the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s new death penalty law was unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court had ruled in January of last year that the state’s [...]

An Iowa union filed a lawsuit Monday challenging a new Iowa law that eliminates most collective bargaining rights for public workers. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61 argues that the law violates language in the Iowa Constitution ensuring equality to citizens and should be blocked. The union stated that [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law discusses President Trump’s affection for torture… President Trump likes torture. He has said that Secretary of Defense Mattis convinced him not to use it and he would defer to Mattis. CIA Director Pompeo in his written responses before his confirmation showed himself [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin G. Davis of University of Toledo College of Law discusses the use of fear as a mechanism for social control… Fear is deployed in the United States as a means of social control. The ICE raids are one kind of way of making people fear by the sudden disappearance in deportation [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kathryn L. Tucker Executive Director of End of Life Liberty Project (ELLP) discusses the End of Life Option Act adopted by California… California adopted the End of Life Option Act (EOLOA) in October 2015, establishing statutory permission for aid in dying (AID), the medical practice in which a physician provides a mentally [...]

Islamic State (IS) fighters are arbitrarily detaining, ill-treating, torturing and forcibly marrying Sunni Arab women and girls in areas under their control in Iraq, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Monday. Although gender-based violence has been common under IS rule, these are the first cases of such violence being perpetrated upon Sunni Arab women. HRW [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement Monday calling for an “immediate halt” to “widespread human rights violations” allegedly committed by government officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) . Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein , said the violence is part of a military effort to address the “root causes” of [...]

A new law passed on Monday by Cambodia’s parliament gives the Supreme Court the power to dissolve any political parties it finds unconstitutional. This law is seen as an attempt by Cambodian premier Hun Sen to crack down on rival political parties before the 2018 election. Phil Robertson , the Deputy Director of Human Rights [...]