The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced Wednesday that it supports the Libyan General National Congress’ decision to form an elected body that will be tasked with writing the country’s new constitution. The UNSMIL called the decision an important step in creating a government that reflect the needs of the people. It further called [...]

Russian feminist rock band Pussy Riot on Wednesday filed a complaint in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging their conviction. They contend that their conviction violates four articles of the European Convention on Human Rights : the freedom of speech, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition of torture and the right [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard arguments on Wednesday in a case challenging the US’ authority to detain suspected terrorists indefintely. The law would allow authorities to detain certain suspects indefinitely if they are found to have aided al Qaeda, the Taliban or “associated forces.” Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday dismissed an Iraqi government lawsuit accusing numerous business entities of conspiring with Saddam Hussein to disrupt the UN Oil-for-Food Program , thereby denying Iraqi citizens access to approximately $10 billion of essential aid. US District Judge Sidney Stein said [...]

The Virginia General Assembly on Tuesday approved legislation limiting the kinds of acceptable documents that voters may use as identification for casting ballots in the Commonwealth. Specifically, Virginia Senate Bill No. 719 and House Bill No. 1337 remove “several items from the list of acceptable identification documents that a voter must present when voting at [...]

The High Court of Australia unanimously ruled on Wednesday that Google did not engage in misleading or deceptive conduct in violation of Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act of 1974 . The ruling overturns a lower court ruling . The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought the case against Google challenging an advertising [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday spoke out against the assassination of Chokri Belaid, a political opposition leader in Tunsia. Belaid was killed by gunfire outside of his home on Wednesday morning. Pillay described Belaid as “a prominent defender of human rights and democratic values, and a firm opponent of political [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Félix Tréguer, Policy and Legal Analyst at La Quadrature du Net says that waging a “judicial guerilla war” in France on “hateful” Internet content unduly stifles free speech…

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday urged the government of Somalia to reopen the case of a reporter and an alleged rape-victim who were both sentenced to a year in prison Tuesday. Calling the sentences a “serious blow to the fight against sexual violence,” Pillay called on Somalia to reopen the [...]

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday that significant progress has been made in ending the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) but called upon the international community to do more to end the practice . UNICEF estimates that more than 120 million girls and women have experienced FGM [...]