Notable human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair was was taken into custody in Saudi Arabia Tuesday after a hearing at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. Abu al-Khair, founder and chief of the human rights group Saudi Arabia Monitor of Human Rights, faces charges that include inciting public opinion. Amnesty International (AI) on Wednesday condemned [...]

The Council of Europe’s (COE) Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland issued a report Wednesday addressing the dire human rights issues Europe is facing. Jagland stated in the report that more action needs to be taken due to the Ukrainian crisis creating a negative impact on European society. In the preface to the report, Jagland emphasized the [...]

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) found on Wednesday that Argentine authorities had failed to ensure equal access and use of prison services and facilities for a prisoner with disabilities. The CRPD stated that Argentina is obliged to not only correct the current situation but also to prevent similar violations [...]

Federal judge Timothy Black of the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio said Wednesday that Ohio must immediately recognize four same-sex marriages but stayed the broader effects of the ruling pending appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit . Staying that portion of the ruling means that Ohio [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota on Wednesday overturned a North Dakota law that prohibits physicians from performing abortions on women as soon as the fetus has a detectable heartbeat. This would disallow abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before the fetus is considered viable. US [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women Rashida Manjoo on Wednesday reported that despite many positive developments implemented by the UK government to combat and appropriately respond to violence against women, it still remains a prevalent issue that requires improved measures by the government. Manjoo stated that approximately 7 percent of women in both England [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Hommel, St. John’s University School of Law, Class of 2014, is the author of the ninth article in a ten-part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. Hommel discusses false identification of military personnel who have engaged in acts of valor and the Stolen Valor [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday upheld regulations issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would limit mercury emissions and other hazardous pollutants from coal-fired power plants. The decision may have the effect of shutting down certain coal-fired plants due to the costs of complying with the [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the district court properly dismissed a lawsuit brought by members of the US House of Representatives and the organization Common Cause challenging the “filibuster” rules of the US Senate . The plaintiffs in the litigation before the DC Circuit were supporters [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Brian T. Hodges of the Pacific Legal Foundation discusses the US Supreme Court’s troubling decision in