The Estonian Parliament, the Riigikogu , passed legislation Thursday legalizing same-sex partnerships. The act passed by a narrow 40-38 vote with another 23 lawmakers abstaining. The new law grants couples in same-sex partnerships similar rights as married couples, including legal protection for children, but it does not grant same-sex couples adoption rights expect where the [...]

A group of independent experts from the UN Human Rights Council once again urged the Malaysian government on Wednesday to abolish the Sedition Act of 1948 after receiving reports of increasing criminalization of government critics. UN Human Rights Council experts claim that they have received reports of 23 recent cases of persons charged with publishing [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned Wednesday that, despite the fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine , abuses such as abductions, torture and ill-treatment still affect local civilians daily. Since the ceasefire, announced September 5, 331 fatalities have been recorded. Many who were internally displaced during the height of the [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Mohamed Abdelaal, of the Alexandria University School of Law in Egypt, discusses the complexities of the current state of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court… After the now-ousted President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power in Egypt in June 2012, the country witnessed a huge wave of political polarization. That is, [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases Wednesday. In Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk the court is tasked with determining whether time spent by employees for after-hours screenings to guard against warehouse theft qualifies for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act as amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act . In Wednesday’s [...]

Justice Anthony Kennedy of the US Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked same-sex marriage in Idaho. An earlier order blocked same-sex marriage in Nevada as well, but Kennedy vacated that stay on Wednesday afternoon. The orders follow a Tuesday decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit striking down same-sex marriage bans [...]

A Buenos Aires court on Tuesday handed down a 23-year prison sentence to Reynaldo Bignone , the last Argentinian military president of the country’s 1976-1983 dictatorship, for the kidnapping and torture of 32 factory workers. The court held Bignone responsible for the forced disappearance of workers by the military during the “Dirty War” . The [...]

Cambodia on Wednesday enacted a regulation that will extend the same rights and protections to nightlife workers that the country’s laws currently grant to other workers. The regulation, entitled “Working Conditions, Occupational Safety and Health Rules of Entertainment Service, Enterprises Establishments and Companies,” was issued by the Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training and [...]

Lawyers for Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday asked that the International Criminal Court (ICC) drop the case against the leader for crimes against humanity and acquit him, arguing that the prosecution does not have adequate evidence to prove its case. Kenyatta’s appearance at the status conference hearing made him the first sitting president to [...]

The Supreme Court of Chile on Tuesday halted the development of a gold and copper mine until proper consultation can be conducted with indigenous and local communities. The mine, owned by Canadian gold producer Goldcorp , is expected to be worth approximately USD $4 billion. However, the Diaguita community in northern Chile filed a request [...]