Former Congolese vice president Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of interfering with the administration of justice. Bemba is accused of paying witnesses and coaching them to give false testimony in his war crimes trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) . If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of [...]

Prosecutors in China on Tuesday announced that they will be investigating former China Supreme Court justice Xi Xiaoming on corruption charges. The former vice president of the Supreme People’s Court has already been fired from all of the public positions he held and has had his membership in the ruling Communist Party revoked. The Central [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist William J. Rich, of Washburn University School of Law, discusses the conflict between branches of the Kansas government that has been intensified in the case of Solomon v. Kansas… In 2014, the Kansas legislature altered the way in which chief administrative judges are chosen, transferring selection authority from the Kansas Supreme Court [...]

Twelve UN agencies published a joint statement on Tuesday urging states to end violence and discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals. Abuses toward the LGBTI population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole, the UN agencies said. The agencies are encouraging nations around the world to help prevent violence [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Tuesday asked parties involved in the Taliban attack in Kunduz, Afghanistan, to do everything in their power to protect civilians form harm . He expressed concern over the deteriorating human rights situation and urged “all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under [...]

The EU has not done enough to address media abuses in Hungary, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a report Tuesday. The international free press advocacy group stated in its report “Balancing Act” that, despite the EU’s efforts to be a global leader in press freedom, it continues to face challenges from some [...]

The UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said Monday that the global drug problem has become a significant human rights issue around the world. In a panel discussion at the UN Human Rights Council, Flavia Pasieri said, “It is clear that the world’s drug problem impacts the enjoyment of a wide range of human [...]

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Labor Minister Saqr Ghobash on Tuesday announced new labor reforms to provide increased oversight on the thousands of employment agreements conducted with temporary migrant workers. Ghobash told reporters that the new reforms will be rolled out in three government decrees that will take effect on January 1. The goal of the [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Christensen from Christensen Law discusses the impact of spousal benefits on the LGBT community… When the US Supreme Court ruled that states could not ban gay marriage earlier this year, it did more than just given them access to marriage certificates. The legal designation of “spouse” opens LGBT couples up to [...]

Nigerian authorities on Saturday turned over to the International Criminal Court an Islamic extremist wanted for his role in the 2012 destruction of religious and historically significant monuments in Timbuktu, Mali. Ahmad Al Mahdi Al Faqi, also known as Abu Tourab, was surrendered to the ICC’s detention center in the Netherlands, fulfilling an arrest warrant [...]