The Afghanistan government signed a peace agreement on Thursday with insurgent group Hezb-i Islami, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The US Embassy applauded the peace accord as an important step towards ending violence and protecting constitutional rights in the country. The peace negotiations focused on Hezb-i Islami renouncing ties to extremist groups and acts of terrorism [...]

Noted human rights lawyer Xia Lin was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a Chinese court on Thursday. Xia, who famously represented many Chinese dissidents including artist Ai Weiwei, was arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining more than a million dollars to take care of gambling debts. He was convicted of obtaining less then [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Nicholas M. Wooldridge of LV Criminal Defense discusses the need for federal expungement legislation… This article is currently under review

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes Baskut Tuncak on Wednesday urged the international community to help end the “silent pandemic” of childhood disease and disability…” caused by exposure to toxins and waste. Stating that children were the “most vulnerable to toxics and pollution,” and that they are “impacted in [...]

A Brazilian judge on Tuesday accepted charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after the Petrobas Oil Scandal . Judge Sergio Moro allowed charges that include complaints that da Silva illegally received almost USD $1.1 million in improvements and expenses from a construction company for a beachfront apartment. In return, it is reported, [...]

A German court said Wednesday that Volkswagen (VW) faces over USD $8.2 billion in damage claims from investors over its emissions scandal. Roughly 1,400 lawsuits have been filed at the Braunschweig court near VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters. Plaintiffs allege that VW did not inform shareholders quickly enough of the impending scandal. The biggest single claim was [...]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday filed a civil suit in federal district court against Leon Cooperman , billionaire and head of major hedge fund firm Omega Advisors . Cooperman is a major shareholder in Atlas Pipeline Partners and was allegedly informed in 2010 that the company was selling off one of its [...]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Wednesday that a power plant in Wales has violated the EU’s limit on nitrogen oxide emissions. The Aberthaw plant has operated for 45 years and primarily uses Welsh coal as its fuel source. In 2008 the EU forced member states to reduce their emissions to meet new environmental [...]

A senior UN official on Tuesday unveiled a draft set of principles aimed at continuing momentum toward the protection of human rights of refugees and migrants . The momentum began with UN member states’ adoption of the New York Declaration earlier this week. Kate Gilmore , the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, talked [...]

A commission under the Council of Europe on Wednesday released a preliminary report finding that proposed changes to the Azerbaijan Constitution are not justified and would hinder the balance of government power . The Venice Commission , a constitutional watchdog branch of the Council of Europe, wrote the report and focused their warning on proposed [...]