Through 2023, tensions in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines have escalated, marked by such significant escalations as the removal of a floating barrier by the Philippines near the Scarborough Shoal and the deployment of its Coast Guard amid increased activity by the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM) near Julian Felipe Reef (or [...]
As we prepare to usher in 2024, the outlook on Alabama’s administration of the death penalty holds many terrible knowns, and an even greater number of grim unknowns. At the top of any capital punishment-watcher’s list: Is Alabama really going to move forward with the first state-sanctioned nitrogen gassing execution in US history? If all goes according [...]
Sri Lankan Prison Commissioner Gamini Dissanayake announced earlier this week that President Ranil Wickremesinghe pardoned over 1,000 prisoners because of the Christmas holiday. The exact number released was 1,004, comprising 989 men and 15 women. A majority of those who were pardoned by the president Sunday were those accused of being unable to pay outstanding [...]
Tokyo’s High Court found the government of Japan not liable Tuesday for damages related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and associated mass evacuations, leaving responsibility solely with plant operator the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). The ruling also reduced the damages amounts of a previous court order from $414,400 to $165,000 for 44 of [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report on Thursday detailing the “further and rapid deterioration” of human rights in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7. The report stressed that escalating violence puts civilian populations at risk and urged Israel and other authorities to take necessary [...]
The US Department of Defense (DOD) announced on Thursday that new Offices of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC) will have authority over the decision to prosecute a number of serious crimes committed in the branches of the military, including sexual assaults, removing certain cases from an accused service member’s chain of command. Before the OSTC reform, [...]
Poland’s Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, issued an order on Wednesday for the liquidation of three prominent state media companies – television network Telewizja Polska (TVP), national radio broadcaster Polskie Radio and news agency Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP). According to Sienkiewicz, the aim of this move is to ensure the continued operation [...]
A banned protest in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), turned violent on Wednesday as police forcefully dispersed demonstrators, leaving several people wounded. The protest was organized by opposition leaders running against incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi, following concerns over the legitimacy of the national elections results. However, the protest was banned over [...]
Every December 10th, international lawyers, governments, and advocacy groups commemorate Human Rights Day. This marks the day in 1948 when, improbably, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris by a nascent United Nations General Assembly under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt. This year, as the Declaration turned 75, I found myself in [...]
The Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRSCC) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari Wednesday to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision which removed former president Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court found Trump engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021. Represented by the American Center for Law [...]
