UN Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Gabriela Knaul warned Friday that an El Salvador law requiring its high court to issue unanimous judgments is an “attack” on judicial independence and the separation of powers. The new law, passed by the Legislative Assembly and issued by the president, places requirements on the judgments [...]

Moroccan voters on Friday overwhelmingly approved a revised version of the constitution, highlighted by fewer powers reserved for their king. With 94 percent of polling stations reporting and 98 percent of voters in approval, Interior Minister Taib Cherkaoui announced that the revisions had passed. Under the new constitution, King Mohammed VI, who previously enjoyed almost [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Kansas on Friday issued a preliminary injunction to block a Kansas regulation requiring clinics within the state to obtain a license to perform abortions . If not for Judge Carlos Murguia’s decision, two of the state’s three clinics would have been forced to close [...]

Ashley Dunn, Staff Attorney at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, argues that despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, legal discrimination remains in the form of federal legislation and the increasing trend of broad religious exemptions…

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Friday that Proposal 2 , an amendment to the Michigan Constitution banning affirmative action in public employment, public education and state contracting, is unconstitutional. The court ruled that this unduly burdened minorities by abusing a political process where minorities were likely to have no redress. [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday dismissed a case brought by Washington state, South Carolina and other local governments challenging the Depart of Energy (DOE) failure to make a permanent nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The plaintiffs, responsible for the temporary storage of nuclear waste, challenged [...]

The Ivory Coast issued international arrest warrants Friday for aides of former president Laurent Gbagbo . The prosecutor’s office in the capital Abidjan issued the warrants , most notably for Charles Ble Goude, the leader of Gbagbo’s youth militia, accusing him of inciting ethnic violence and attacks against UN workers. Other members of Gbagbo’s government [...]

US Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Janet Napolitano on Friday criticized other nations for not advancing and embracing new technology, thus leaving themselves open to attacks from cyber-criminals. At an international security conference in Vienna, Napolitano called for an international legal framework to defend and prosecute threats to cyber security. She declined to address the [...]

Officials from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) appealed to Texas Governor Rick Perry Friday to stop the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal Garcia , alleging he did not receive a fair trial. When Leal Garcia was arrested for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl, he was [...]

UN Office of the Commissioner on Human Rights Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina, warned Greece that implementation of the latest batch of austerity measures to solve its economic crisis could result in serious violations of basic human rights, Lumina said in a statement released Friday. The Greek Parliament passed the [...]