The European Commission on Thursday referred Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the country’s Sovereignty Protection Act, alleging the law violates fundamental EU principles. The Sovereignty Protection Act has been in force since December 2023.  The legislation established an independent Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), with the power to investigate and penalize organizations [...]

Pakistan authorities enforced a lockdown in Islamabad on Friday, as well as implementing a block on cellphone services, to counter an anti-government demonstration organized by supporters of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. According to the Islamabad police, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is in force in the city. The section empowers [...]

Taiwan deported two Chinese nationals on Thursday after they disrupted a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents. The couple — a man identified by the surname Yao and his wife — were deported for violating Taiwan’s immigration regulations after their involvement in an altercation at the event. The event took place on [...]

A US federal court on Thursday blocked the Department of Education’s revised student debt relief plan from taking effect in six states. The preliminary injunction came on the final day of a temporary restraining order that was set to expire. Effective immediately, the ruling stops the Department of Education from mass cancellation of student loans [...]

Ernesa Shala is a JURIST staff correspondent in Kosovo and a recent graduate of the University of Pristina Faculty of Law.  Kosovo’s Ombudsperson is currently examining the case of an 18-year-old student expelled from Bedri Pejani high school in Peja municipality for wearing a headscarf, commonly known as the hijab. Despite a meeting between Minister [...]

Google said on Friday that it will stop linking to New Zealand news articles and ditch the agreements it has made with local news organizations if the country passes the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which will force tech companies to pay publishers for content appearing on their feeds. In a blog post by Google’s New [...]

Speaker of the Republic of Georgia’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced on Thursday that he signed into law a bill defining marriage as between a man and a woman and prohibiting the promotion of same-sex relationships in schools, according to local media. The legislation states that Georgia recognizes family values of the union of a man and a woman, [...]

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that the Prosecutor’s Office in the Volgograd region approved an indictment against Nikita Zhuravel, who was charged with treason under Article 275 of the Russian Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for treason under the Russian Criminal Code is life imprisonment. According to the Prosecutor’s Office investigation, Zhuravel offered [...]

Recent headlines brought a glimmer of hope to the women and girls whose lives under the Taliban have essentially been reduced to prison terms: Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands announced plans to bring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for gender discrimination. As an Afghan woman, I have been horrified to [...]

The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) voted on Wednesday to formally recognize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as a political prisoner based on his time spent in UK custody while fighting extradition to the US on espionage charges. Assange has been free since June, when he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for releasing troves of US classified documents [...]