Government officials in the Republic of the Congo on Monday announced a referendum on an amendment to the constitution that could allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend his term in office. The proposed amendment allows presidents to renew their term twice and removes the age limit for presidential candidates, currently set at 70. Nguesso, [...]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that a convicted murderer could be banned from voting because the ban is proportionate to the offense. Thierry Delvigne challenged the ban before the ECJ as a violation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights . According to a press release from the court, “the deprivation of [...]

The England and Wales Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday that a same-sex spouse is not entitled to his husband’s full pension benefits in the event of death. John Walker worked for Innospec but retired in 2003, two years before same-sex civil partnerships were recognized in the UK. In the event of Walker’s death, his spouse [...]

Thailand’s military government on Monday appointed a committee to write a new constitution after a previous draft was rejected last month. The committee, which consists of 21 members, will begin work on a new draft on Tuesday that must be finished in 180 days. The draft will then go to the legislature for approval before [...]

The Judicial Council of Ghana on Monday announced the suspension of seven high court judges following corruption allegations by an investigative journalist. The decision was based on video footage collected in a nationwide investigation conducted by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the leading journalist on uncovering corruption in the judiciary, which showed more than 180 judges and [...]

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that EU user data transferred to the US by various technology companies is not sufficiently protected. The case was brought by Austrian Max Schrems who argued that US law does not provide sufficient protection against the surveillance of data transferred to US servers. The ruling invalidates the [...]

California Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed legislation that provides terminally ill patients the right to die. Brown stated, “he crux of the matter is whether the State of California should continue to make it a crime for a dying person to end his life, no matter how great his pain or suffering.” The bill [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday on two cases. In Hawkins v. Community Bank of Raymore , the court heard arguments regarding the role of spouses as guarantors in credit applications. In this case, Community Bank of Raymore asked for a guaranty to support the creditworthiness of PHC, a development company, and its [...]

A dozen Pacific Rim nations, including the US, on Monday announced that they have agreed to a historic regional trade pact that links 40 percent of the global economy. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the largest such accord in history, will provide uty-free trade on most goods while reducing tariffs on others. This will eliminate many [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the US Department of Justice in the case of two former hedge fund traders whose insider trading convictions were overturned by a lower court in December. The traders, Todd Newman and Anthony Chiasson, were convicted in May 2013 on charges of “conspiracy to commit insider [...]