Voters in Scotland on Thursday voted against independence from the UK in the country’s first national referendum on the matter. The Scottish Parliament unanimously approved a bill last November to hold a Scottish independence referendum . Eighty-four percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the referendum, with approximately 45 percent voting in favor of Scottish [...]

JURIST guest columnist Leslie Haskell, of Human Rights Watch, discusses how some European countries have taken affirmative steps to prosecute those within their borders—as well as those who may eventually come within them—for major international crimes by enacting universal jurisdiction laws and creating specialized war crimes units to investigate and prosecute these crimes, arguing that [...]

The Bangladesh Parliament on Thursday unanimously approved an amendment to the nation’s constitution granting the parliament authority to impeach Supreme Court justices. The amendment, backed by the ruling Awami League , faced heavy criticism from judges who viewed the change as an attempt by the ruling party to exert more control over the judiciary. Under [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) suspended its delegation to Azerbaijan Thursday citing the government’s prevention of access to a number of locations where individuals are being detained. Azerbaijan is a party to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or [...]

Oklahoma on Wednesday requested that the US District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma dismiss a lawsuit filed after the botched execution of Clayton Lockett. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), The Guardian and The Oklahoma Observer filed the lawsuit in August in reaction to the state’s decision to draw a curtain midway through [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Ron Fein, of Free Speech for People, discusses the Supreme Court’s recent Hobby Lobby decision … The Supreme Court’s majority opinion in Hobby Lobby made a serious mistake about the nature of corporate religious claims. But so did the dissent. As Hobby Lobby’s case worked its way through the courts, both sides [...]

In defiance of an International Whaling Commission non-binding vote to impose strict limits on “scientific whaling,” Japan on Thursday announced plans to proceed with a new round of culls scheduled for next year. The whale conservation organization voted at a meeting to require all scientific whaling programs be put before a committee for guidance. The [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on Thursday delayed ruling on a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Robert Chambers stated that the case, brought on behalf of three same-sex couples and the child of one couple, has issues that overlap with a case [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) filed a complaint on Wednesday on behalf of four same-sex couples who were legally married in Wisconsin last June, but whose marriages are not currently recognized due to a stay on the district court ruling striking down the same-sex marriage ban. The complaint argues the legal marriages of the [...]

The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday raised awareness for the rights of indigenous peoples, comprised of approximately 370 million people in 90 countries around the world. The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz , urged members of the international community to reconcile any past differences with indigenous peoples for prior [...]