A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed serious concern regarding Colombia’s proposed constitutional reform to their military justice system. The proposed reform seeks to alter the scope of Colombia’s military criminal justice system. Should the proposal be adopted, the investigations and trials of military personnel [...]

The Egyptian Court of Cassation on Wednesday suspended work until President Mohammed Morsi rescinds a decree he issued last week that removes judicial review of his actions and vastly expands his power, according to Egypt’s state television. In addition to these highest appeals courts, the lower appeals courts have resolved to suspend work as well. [...]

The US Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) . The court is considering whether § 502(a)(3) of ERISA is susceptible to equitable principles of relief even where the plan’s terms give it an absolute right to full reimbursement. An attorney for US [...]

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Monday approved a resolution calling for a global ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). The committee’s resolution calls on the UN’s 193 member countries to enact and enforce legislation to protect women and girls from female circumcision and other genital mutilation procedures and to end impunity [...]

El Salvador should address the continued challenges to the independence of its judicial system, the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul stated on Monday. Her mission was to examine El Salvador’s progress at implementing and fulfilling its human rights obligations regarding the independence of judges and lawyers and those [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist David Harris of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law discusses his new book, which looks at the tendency of law enforcement to resist advances in scientific knowledge that undermine more “traditional” methods of police investigation…

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that the euro zone’s permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) , is in line with European law, following a referral from the Ireland Supreme Court. The referral arose from a claim made by a member of Irish Parliament that the ESM, an amendment to the [...]

Ericsson, the Swedish telecom network equipment maker, on Tuesday announced that it filed suit against Samsung in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas for patent infringement. The suit follows a disagreement between the two companies for the renewal of licenses for telecommunications patents. The negotiation lasted for nearly two years after [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Pakistani judges on Tuesday to stop using contempt of court powers as a mechanism for silencing the media’s critique of the judiciary. Since 2009 when the independent judiciary was restored, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the provincial high courts have reportedly attempted to muzzle the media’s criticism of [...]

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday signed a law on conducting national referendums. Pursuant to the law, referendums can be used to approve altering the wording of the constitution, to amend the constitution and to repeal a law amending the constitution. They can also be used to resolve territorial issues of Ukraine. Opposition parties have [...]