The Venezuelan Parliament on Tuesday voted to open criminal impeachment proceedings against sitting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, alleging that he manipulated the constitution to remain in power. Arguing that Maduro staged a coup, the congress attempted to have Maduro accept a recall vote by listening to the testimony of accusers, some of whom claim that [...]

Government officials gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting on Wednesday considered a report on the growing problem of violence and severe discrimination against people with albinism. The report, written by human rights expert Ikponwosa Ero, called for action to end the discrimination that she asserted was founded on traditional and culturally [...]

The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court dismissed an application on Thursday by more than 300 detained asylum-seekers requesting transfer to Australia. The judge dismissed the case because the lawyer signed the application instead of the complainants. Any migrants who are intercepted before reaching Australia are sent by officials to either Manus Island in Papua New [...]

A Spanish court ordered automobile manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) and its subsidiary in Valladolid to pay €5,006 in a lawsuit regarding its emissions scandal. VW has been accused of implementing software in its vehicles that could cheat emissions tests. The plaintiff was an owner of an Audi Q5 purchased in 2013 for about €50,000. Although the [...]

The UN Refugee Agency (UNCHR) on Wednesday called 2016 the worst year for refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea as the death toll reached its highest point. The agency expressed concern because the current death tolls are on track to supersede the already high numbers from 2015. The agency believes the death rates are due to [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) , along with the Urban Peace Institute and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging gang injunctions conducted by the Los Angeles officials violate due process rights of community members. The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Central [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Robert Gyenes discusses the UNCITRAL Working Group II (Dispute Resolution) in Vienna, which aims to negotiate an international mediation treaty or law… The 65th meeting of the UN Commission on International Trade Law’s Working Group II recently closed its 12-23 September session in Vienna, Austria. It was the latest in a series [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday ruled that music companies that previously composed EMI Group, Ltd. can pursue copyright infringement claims against an old online music storage company and its CEO, Michael Robertson . The companies were appealing from a US district judge’s reduction of a $48.1 million jury award, [...]

A US district judge on Tuesday approved a $14.7 billion settlement between Volkswagen AG (VW) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the state of California and car owners who filed a class action lawsuit over the company’s emissions scandal. Judge Charles Breyer of the US District Court for the [...]

A study released by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on Wednesday shows that female members of parliament (MPs) face higher levels of sexism, violence and harassment than reported. The IPU conducted interviews with more than 50 female MPs from countries across the world. A brief overview of the results show that over 80 percent of participants [...]