The Thirteenth Texas Court of Appeals on Thursday vacated a lower court’s holding that Nikki Araguz, the transgender widow of a firefighter who died in 2010, was a man at the time of her marriage, thus invalidating the union. The lawsuit was originally brought by Simona Longoria, mother of Thomas Araguz, and subsequently joined by [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Somali government on Thursday to adopt reforms to help prevent sexual violence against women and provide support for victims. HRW released a report, “Here, Rape is Normal” , with instructions for the government to establish a strategy to reduce sexual violence in the country. The report lays out five [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion on Thursday reinstating a shareholder class-action lawsuit against BP Alaska for securities fraud after the case had been dismissed by a lower federal court. The case had been dismissed for inadequate pleading in the lower court. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit found that [...]

The Bavarian justice minister Winfried Bausback presented a bill on Friday to the German Parliament that would lift the statute of limitations for certain cases involving stolen property. The law would help Jewish families seeking the return of stolen art and other valuables from Nazis. Under the current German civil code, citizens may not bring [...]

Kenyan Attorney General Githu Muigai told the International Criminal Court (ICC) Thursday that Kenya would not turn over financial records of President Uhuru Kenyatta without a court order in compliance with Kenyan law. Muigai noted specifically that his office was in no way to obstruct the ICC investigation and was merely following articles 91, 93, [...]

Egyptian authorities on Thursday ordered 242 supporters of former president Mohammed Morsi to face new trials in relation to the violent protests against the new government. Most of the individuals are low level members of the Muslim Brotherhood who are being charged for storming government buildings in Assiut. Another part of the group is facing [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday struck down a California concealed weapons rule , ruling it violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The rule required concealed weapons applicants to show good cause to receive a permit to carry a concealed weapon, be of “good moral character,” and complete [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday reported that Libya has failed to grant due process rights to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and other detained former government officials. On January 23 HRW interviewed Gaddafi, who revealed that he and the other detainees have been denied access to legal counsel. Moreover, he claimed they were not afforded an [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Cope of Georgetown University Law Center argues that the crisis in South Sudan suggests that the international community might consider refocusing more of its attention on the role of constitutional structure …

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Tuesday announced that Augustin Ndindiliyimana, the former chief of staff of the Rwandan parliamentary police, and Francois-Xavier Nzuwonemeye, the former commander of a military reconnaissance battalion, had been acquitted on appeal . In May the trial chamber convicted Ndindiliyimana of genocide, extermination as a crime against humanity [...]