The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on Monday urged Qatar to consolidate its justice system and address its shortcomings. Gbrelia Knaul, the current Special Rapporteur, praised Qatar’s achievements over the past decade in establishing an independent judiciary, but criticized the justice system there for failing to uphold basic human rights. [...]

The US Supreme Court on Monday ruled unanimously to overturn a defamation judgment in Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper , in which a pilot sued the airline for reporting him as a security threat and calling him “mentally unstable.” At issue in this case was the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) . To [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Sandifer v. US Steel Corp. that employees are not entitled to compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for time spent changing in and out of protective gear. The FLSA governs minimum wages and maximum hours for certain employees and specifically excludes the time it takes to [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday warned that the renewed clashes of anti-Balaka and ex-Seleka mark a critical time for Central African Republic (CAR) . Ex-Seleka groups are supported by armed Muslim civilians, while anti-Balaka are backed by former national army soldiers. Serious violence has been reported in the Bangui neighborhoods [...]

Tunisia’s Parliament on Sunday passed a new constitution, its first since the ousting of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the country’s democratic transition, stating his belief that Tunisia’s example could serve as a model to other peoples seeking reforms in a statement from his spokesperson. The [...]

The children of convicted murderer Dennis McGuire filed a lawsuit on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio over the method used in McGuire’s 26-minute long execution, which they say amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. McGuire, who was convicted in 1994 of raping and murdering a 22-year-old girl in [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday issued an order enjoining the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) from requiring that the Little Sisters, a Roman Catholic order, fill out a formal government document in order to secure exemption from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) contraceptive mandate. The PPACA requires employers [...]

Anti-government protesters on Sunday seized and occupied the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice building in Kiev and did not disperse until a government minister threatened to initiate a state of emergency Monday morning. The Ukrainian civic group Spilna Sprava, translated as “Common Cause,” has reportedly claimed responsibility for the Ministry of Justice raid and earlier raids [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Abbey Marr, Harvard Law School, Class of 2014, discusses how Texas has placed undue burdens on women seeking abortions…

Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour announced in a televised speech on Sunday that Egypt will hold presidential elections before conducting parliamentary elections. The parliamentary elections were supposed to happen first under the timetable agreed to after Egypt’s army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July. Critics have argued for a change in the ‘roadmap’ to [...]