The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Friday ruled against the University of Notre Dame , denying their claim that the US Department of Health’s contraception-coverage requirement is forcing the institution to violate its religious beliefs. In a 2-1 decision, the federal court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that denied Notre Dame’s [...]

The UN Security Council announced Wednesday that a 10 year old arms embargo against Somalia will not be fully restored after its expiration in March. In 2013, the security council voted to partially lift the embargo, allowing the Somalian government to purchase small arms to defend against Islamist forces. This year, reports indicated that the [...]

US Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday threatened targeted sanctions against the Ukrainian officials responsible for violence against civilian protesters. Biden urged Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to remove security forces from Kiev and to take “immediate and tangible steps” toward ending the violence and addressing the concerns of the Ukrainian people. At least 25 individuals [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Eric Leonard, the Henkel Family Chair in International Affairs at Shenandoah University, argues that President Obama’s recently issued memorandum regarding US troops in Mali represents a step backwards in the US-ICC relationship…

JURIST Guest Columnist Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier of the CUNY School of Law argues that public opinion and litigation worked together to protect the constitutional rights of individuals in recent suits regarding New York’s stop-and-frisk law …

After failing to meet a February 3 deadline, Syria released a 100-day plan to dispose of their chemical weapons on Friday. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) set the deadline for all Syrian chemical weapons to be destroyed by June 30. While the OPCW did not comment on the plan, several organizations [...]

On Saturday, the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovich . The vote followed Yanukovich’s statement that he would not be resigning despite current escalating violence. At least 25 individuals have been reported dead and more than 240 injured, in protests that escalated when individuals began a march on Parliament in opposition of Yanukovich. [...]

Ukraine opposition icon and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was released from prison Saturday when the Supreme Council of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada , voted to decriminalize the charges that had been brought against her. Tymoshenko, an ardent critic of current President Viktor Yanukovich , was jailed and sentenced on corruption charges in 2011 that many [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Adam Coogle of Human Rights Watch discusses Saudi Arabia’s new terrorism law…

Arizona state lawmakers gave final approval on Thursday to a bill that will allow state business owners to refuse service to individuals for “religious reasons,” a law that has been denounced by critics as sanctioning discrimination against LGBT individuals. The bill was jointly written by the conservative Center for Arizona Policy and the Alliance Defending [...]