US federal agencies must rehire tens of thousands of fired probationary employees after a federal judge ruled Thursday their firings were carried out unlawfully. US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction, which broadened the previous temporary restraining order. Apart from reinstating the fired workers, the order also requires government agencies [...]

The Peruvian Congress approved Wednesday a controversial reform to the 2002 legislation that created the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI) and oversees international aid. The amendment received widespread criticism from human rights organizations, alleging that it hinders the ability of civil society groups to sue the government for human rights violations. The amendment expands [...]

A UN expert on Wednesday warned that Argentinian President Javier Milei’s temporary judicial appointment by presidential decree would undermine the country’s judicial independence, democracy, and gender equality. UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Margaret Satterthwaite urged the Argentinian government to comply with its binding international human rights obligations, stating: “The Executive [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday held that President Donald Trump’s “unprecedented removal” of the chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), Susan Tsui Grundmann, was unlawful. Noting that “no President has ever removed a Member” in nearly 50 years since the FLRA’s creation, Judge Sparkle [...]

A Guatemala appeals court has overturned the house arrest orders imposed on journalist José Rubén Zamora on March 4, according to a statement published by Amnesty International on Wednesday. Following the court’s ruling, Zamora was returned to jail on Monday. Amnesty International condemned the re-imprisonment of Zamora, calling his new arrest arbitrary and part of [...]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, Lee Zeldin, on Wednesday announced 31 deregulatory actions to “Power the Great American Comeback.” In doing so, Zeldin noted the agency’s commitment to “fulfilling President Trump’s promise to…restore the rule of law, and give power back to states to make their own decisions.” Stating that these “historic actions” [...]

US District Court Judge Shelly Dick issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday that temporarily blocked a Louisiana inmate’s execution by nitrogen gas, ruling that the largely untested method could cause the convict’s “pain and terror” in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Louisiana State Penitentiary scheduled Jessie Hoffman’s execution by nitrogen gas for March 18, [...]

Russian Supreme Court upheld the 12-year imprisonment of a transgender anti-war activist Mark Kislitsyn, stated Amnesty International on Wednesday. The group said convicting the activist of high treason for sending US $10 to a Ukrainian bank account “defied common sense,” urging his immediate release. Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia researcher, reiterated that the real aim [...]

I was recently removed from an academic listserv for expressing my concerns about the administration of Donald Trump. This type of self-censorship permeating across sectors, including academia, is a troubling sign of our times. In some ways I feel as though we are living in 1933 Germany, when Adolf Hitler took power and rapidly dismantled [...]

A pressing question to ask is whether — and if yes, how — novel societal harms caused by AI systems are adequately addressed within the contours of existing legal categories and legislation. This article focuses on the risks and harms concerning the rule of law. It will highlight three issues by discussing relevant provisions of [...]