A UN probe into human rights violations in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) found on Tuesday that at least 126 people were raped and at least two civilians were killed during recent violence in the region. The probe focused on alleged human rights violations that occurred between November 20 and November 30 in [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement on Tuesday with book publisher Penguin Group, Inc. regarding an alleged conspiracy to raise the prices of e-books. The DOJ’s antitrust division filed a lawsuit in April accusing Penguin Group, as well as several other publishers, of conspiring with Apple, Inc. to force e-book prices above [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday denied a request by Apple Inc. to permanently enjoin sales of Samsung smartphones. US District Judge Lucy Koh concluded that Apple had not presented sufficient evidence to show that patented features on the iPhone drove consumer demand for the smartphone: [...]

A three-judge panel in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday granted permission to Texas officials to immediately appeal a ruling that rejected a Texas law requiring voters to present photo identification to election officials before casting their ballots. The court had ruled in August that the retrogressive effect within the [...]

The Irish government on Tuesday announced plans to introduce legislation to clarify that abortions are legal when the mother’s life is at risk. The legislation is intended to put Ireland in compliance with a 2010 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which held that Ireland failed to provide “effective and accessible procedures” [...]

The UN Security Council on Monday approved a resolution extending the terms of 21 judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) . The resolution passed with 14 votes in favor, none opposed and one abstention by the Russian Federation. The terms have been extended until the end of 2013 or the [...]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday acquitted Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui on charges of rape, murder and pillage. Ngudjolo was accused of commanding fighters in a 2003 rebel attack on Bogoro, a strategic village in the mineral-rich Ituri region in eastern Congo. Some 200 people, including children, were raped and killed in [...]

The Montana Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit seeking legal status for same-sex relationships. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) originally filed suit in July 2010 on behalf of six same-sex couples alleging that state law prohibited them from benefiting from relationship and family protections and obligations automatically provided [...]

JURIST Columnist Paul Johnson, Anniversary Reader at the University of York, argues that the effect of an on-going human rights debate in the British Isles and the European Court of Human Rights may have a detrimental effect on the same-sex marriage debate in the UK…

The Polk County court in Iowa ruled Monday that both same-sex parents’ names should be listed on their child’s death certificate. Jennifer and Jessica Buntemeyer, a legally married couple, sued the state of Iowa to include both women’s names on the death certificate after Jessica gave birth to a still-born son. In his ruling, District [...]