A UN official on Wednesday said that Islamists who have seized power in northern Mali are violating the human rights of women and children through enforced prostitution and recruitment of child soldiers. UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said that rebel forces who seized power in northern Mali when soldiers overthrew Mali’s president [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin , in which the plaintiff is challenging the constitutionality of the university’s affirmative action program. The plaintiff, Abigail Noel Fisher, was denied acceptance to the university and claims that her race was a determining factor in her rejection. Fisher’s [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday issued an order temporarily staying an injunction blocking Montana’s campaign finance law. Montana’s campaign finance law law limits the individual contributions to gubernatorial and lieutenant governor candidates to $500 and contributions to candidates for other statewide offices to $250. The trial court’s injunction found [...]

The three-judge panel of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that South Carolina’s new voter identification law does not discriminate against racial minorities, allowing it to take effect next year. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that the law violated the Voting Rights Act . The state responded that [...]

Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 11 criminal charges . His charges include taking hostages, providing material support to terrorist groups, including al Qaeda , and conspiring do such acts. He made his first appearance in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Saturday [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Kathryn Young, University of Virginia School of Law Class of 2013, argues that gambling can effectively increase states’ revenue and should be viewed outside of its negative connotations… The recent New Jersey law condoning sports betting at the state’s casinos and racetracks has sparked much debate about the integrity of sports and [...]

Ohio officials filed an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking permission to close early voting three days prior to election day for everyone but overseas military personnel. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and Attorney General Mike DeWine filed the request seeking to stay an order by the US Court of [...]

A Thai court on Wednesday upheld a controversial law which imposes criminal sanctions for those deemed to have insulted the royal family. The Thai Constitutional Court decided unanimously that Article 112 of the Criminal Code of Thailand fell within the limits of the nation’s constitution . Article 112 allows for anyone who “defames, insults or [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday in X. v. Turkey that a gay man was detained in violation of Articles 3 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights . A homosexual man filed a series of complaints during his detention in a Turkish prison alleging he was harassed and mistreated [...]

The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft law that would legalize circumcisions . The law comes in response to a Cologne state court ruling that circumcision of minors for religious reasons is prohibited. Though the court’s judgment was limited to the Cologne region, the ruling sparked outrage in religious communities, and doctors refused to [...]