Myanmar has abolished a law from 1950 that was used by the military to jail dissidents within the country. Myanmar’s President, Htin Kyaw, signed new legislation abolishing the Emergency Provisions Act on Tuesday. The Act provided the military the ability to impose seven-year prison terms for those deemed to be dissidents. Such behavior could include [...]

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday refused to hear a claim by the Marshall Islands that the world’s nuclear powers failed to halt the nuclear arms race. The court found that they could not hear the case because they did not have jurisdiction over the matter. The Marshall Islands was the site for [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) sent a delegation to Israel and Palestine Wednesday for a five-day visit aimed at education and outreach in the region. The ICC stated that the trip will not serve to gather evidence or make assessments pertaining to alleged crimes falling under its jurisdiction. A statement by the court distinguished between [...]

The UN expert on freedom of religion or belief Tuesday condemned Yemen for the nation’s arbitrary arrest and detention of people belonging to the Bahá’í religious community. The expert, Heiner Bielefeldt , explained that “ny arrest or detention based on the exercise of the freedom of religion is arbitrary.” Bielefeldt called on Yemen to release [...]

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday ruled that same-sex couples that never marry are entitled to the same parental rights as heterosexual couples. This decision arose out of a suit seeking parental rights filed by Karen Partanen, former partner of Julie Gallagher, who was impregnated by artificial insemination. The couple ended their relationship when [...]

US District Judge Henry Autrey has dismissed a lawsuit filed by participants of the Ferguson riots that alleged police abuse. The complaint , filed by nine individuals, alleged that police were unlawfully violent when quelling riots in the wake of the 2014 Michael Brown killing, and sought $41.5 million in compensation. Autrey disagreed, and granted [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in Bravo-Fernandez v. United States . The court is being asked to decide whether an unconstitutional, vacated conviction can “cancel” out the preclusive effect of an acquittal under the double jeopardy clause of the US Constitution. The case arises out of a federal prosecution in Puerto Rice [...]

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a state law adding new licensing and inspection rules for facilities that perform abortions is unconstitutional. The court found that the law violated a provision of the Oklahoma constitution that mandates each legislative bill have only one subject. The court stated: We find that each of the four [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein cautioned Russia Tuesday against the continued use of incendiary weapons in the fight for Aleppo. At issue is the use of incendiary weapons during airstrikes carried out in aide of the Syrian offensive. Zeid said that airstrikes often strike innocent civilians causing irreparable harm to [...]

Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday called on wealthy nations to become more active in solving the refugee crisis after discovering that 10 nations making up less than 2.5 percent of the world’s GDP have taken in more than half of all resettled persons. AI released a study that found that rich nations have refused to [...]