The Burundi government arrested six people on Saturday in connection with the murder of the country’s water, environment and planning minister, Emmanuel Niyonkuru, who was shot in the head shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve. While the motive for the killing remains undetermined, police are currently calling the killing an “assassination.” Many senior figures [...]

The Republican-controlled Kentucky legislature passed a series of controversial bills on Saturday, including right-to-work legislation and abortion restrictions, amid massive public protests. Among other things, House Bill 1 prohibits government employees from striking and employers from forcing workers to pay dues to labor unions that may represent them in collective bargaining. Additionally, House Bill 3 [...]

Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland on Thursday stated that the interruption of water that has left millions of Syrians without clean access to water constitutes a war crime. The secretary, who acts as chair for the UN/ISSG Task Force on Humanitarian Access in Syria, made the statement during a press conference [...]

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents on Friday appealed a ruling that gives in-state tuition to undocumented individuals who received protections under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) . The board of regents also filed a motion to stay the judge’s ruling until the appeal is decided. DACA gives undocumented individuals, sometimes [...]

Former president of Chad Hissène Habré will begin his appeal on Monday against the life sentence and fines imposed on him this past summer by the Extraordinary African Chambers , a body created by Senegal and the African Union. He was found guilty of sex slavery, rape and the killings of an estimated 40,000 people [...]

A Sri Lankan panel of the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms has recommended the appointment of a hybrid court composed of local and international judges to oversee the adjudication of allegations of war crimes committed during the nation’s civil war. The international presence on the court will be phased out once trust between the [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Maryland ruled Friday to dismiss in part and allow in part a lawsuit from officers who were charged in the death of Freddie Gray against Maryland State Attorney Marilyn Mosby. The false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of process, conspiracy, Fourteenth Amendment violations, Fourth Amendment [...]

The UN announced plans on Friday to create a high-level task force to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse. The task force is to develop a “clear, game-changing strategy to achieve visible and measurable further improvement.” It will include members who currently hold various positions throughout the UN. One member, Jane Hall Lute, [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Reid T. Murdoch, Esq., Board member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, analyzes a major Eighth Circuit ruling prohibiting blanket drug testing of college students… Blanket drug testing of college students is officially unconstitutional, a US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in December, reversing a previous panel opinion. The [...]

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Friday that 2016 had more recorded migrant deaths than any previous year. According to preliminary figures, 363,348 migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe arrived successfully while 5,079 died at sea. At least 300 more fatalities are expected to factor in as the figures do not [...]