The European Commission on Thursday initiated an infringement action against Hungary’s new asylum law and the country’s response to the refugee situation. Hungary recently erected a fence along its border to keep migrants from crossing into the country. The government has also rejected and fought against Germany’s plan that requires all EU states to take [...]

Maurice Tomlinson, a Jamaican human rights activist, on Thursday challenged the constitutionality of Jamaica’s Offences Against the Person Act of 1864 , which criminalizes consensual sexual conduct between men, in the Supreme Court of Jamaica . The complaint alleges that sections 76, 77 and 79 of the law violate provisions of Jamaica’s Charter of Fundamental [...]

Former Guatemalan president Otto Pérez Molina was formally charged by prosecutors on Wednesday following the investigation into the corruption scandal that led to his resignation. Prosecutor Francisco Sandoval said that Pérez Molina is suspected of illicit association, customs fraud and bribery. Pérez Molina was jailed pending investigation in September following an indictment over corruption charges. [...]

A group of same-sex couples filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging a North Carolina law that permits magistrates to refuse to perform same-sex marriages on religious grounds. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six plaintiffs who seek to overturn North Carolina SB 2 , which permits public officials to recuse themselves from duties associated [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday on the use of racial preference in undergraduate university admissions. In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin the court must decide whether the University of Texas at Austin (UT) may continue considering race as part of its admission criteria. The US Court of Appeals for the [...]

The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil on Wednesday suspended impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff until the court can determine the constitutional validity of a secret ballot. The vote is to determine whether the congressional committee appointed to carry out the impeachment is stacked with members seeking to oust Rousseff. A decision is expected by [...]

Although hostilities have significantly declined in Ukraine, “serious human rights concerns persist,” the UN said Wednesday in a new report . The UN attributes this decrease in hostility to the August 26 ceasefire , as certain weapons were withdrawn. However, civilians are still reportedly at risk in the conflict. The UN outlined human rights concerns [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Jessica L. Waters of American University discusses the implications of the Supreme Court granting certiorari to hear consolidated ACA cases… In early November the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in a group of consolidated cases challenging the applicability of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. The challenges which come in [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases. In Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission the court heard arguments on whether the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) violated the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote” when it redrew congressional district lines to overpopulate some areas and under populate, therefore giving votes [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist James Dwyer of the College of William & Mary School of Law discusses the controversy surrounding recent removal of a foster child from a same-sex couple… A November foster care review hearing in Utah captured national news attention because the foster parents are a lesbian couple, and, for that reason, the juvenile [...]