The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases on Tuesday. In Williams v. Illinois , the justices heard the latest in a series of arguments over the Confrontation Clause and will decide if a defendant’s rights are violated if the state permits an expert witness to testify about the results of a DNA [...]

Lesbians and transgender men in South Africa face discrimination and fear violence on a daily basis from both private individuals and government officials, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Monday. The report argues that the government has failed to protect lesbians and transgender men under the “equality clause” of the South African Bill of Rights. [...]

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) issued preliminary findings on Sunday stating that the Russian election was “characterized by frequent procedural violations and instances of apparent manipulation.” The report noted that the vote count was assessed was “bad or very bad” in 34 of 115 observed polling stations, voting counts were interrupted [...]

The European Commission for Competition announced Tuesday that it will investigate Apple for anti-competitive practices in connection with its dealings with several publishers. The investigation is allowed by Article 11(6) of the Antitrust Regulation . The Commission will probe whether Apple colluded with publishing companies, Hachette Livre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Verlagsgruppe [...]

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Tuesday that he will continue to monitor post-election violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Moreno-Ocampo said that he is in the process of requesting information from DRC authorities and that he would investigate allegations of violence by government security forces as well as [...]

A group of 14 Asian countries in the Asia-Pacific region execute more people than the rest of the world combined, the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network said Monday. The report, When Justice Fails: Thousands Executed in Asia After Unfair Trials , argues that these countries’ legal systems fail to meet international standards, such as torture, mandatory [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday urged all sides in Yemen to cease ongoing deadly attacks and live up to previous commitments to investigate the serious human rights violations of its former government, calling for an immediate and impartial investigation. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN Office of the High [...]

More than 20,000 children are subjected to harsh and unsafe conditions while working in Malian gold mines, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Tuesday. Children reportedly carry heavy ore from the mining shafts and are exposed to mercury inhalation, which causes severe health problems. The gold mined by Malian children as young as six years old [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Jules Lobel of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that if the Occupy Movement can create organizational forms that combine its democratic, egalitarian origins with ongoing direct action, a narrative of solidarity, equality and democracy over the long term, it will have made a major contribution in transforming the public [...]

A second major tobacco company, Imperial Tobacco, Ltd. , on Tuesday filed an action in Australia’s High Court challenging the country’s new tobacco packaging laws. Last month, Parliament approved the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill , which removes descriptive colors and logos from cigarette boxes and requires a depiction of the negative effects of smoking. Imperial [...]