Foreign/International
Nepal Supreme Court Constitution Bench Reinstates Dissolved House Of Representatives
The Supreme Court of Nepal (Constitution Bench) today reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for the second time in nearly five months. The Chief Justice-led five-member Constitution Bench has also ordered the appointment of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the Prime Minister within two days.Nepal's Supreme Court [Constitution Bench] reinstates dissolved House...
George Floyd Murder: Ex-Police Officer Derek Chauvin Sentenced To 22.5 Years In Prison
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 and a half years (270 months) in prison on Friday for the murder of African American George Floyd and the sentence in this regard was delivered by Judge Peter A. Cahill of Hennepin County District Court. George Floyd was killed last year while getting arrested by the police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25th,...
Right To Life Is The Mother Of All Rights: Malawi Supreme Court Holds Death Penalty Unconstitutional
The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has declared that the death penalty is unconstitutional."The essence of the right to life is life itself-the sanctity of life. The right to life is the mother of all rights. Without the right to life other rights do not exist. The death penalty not only negates, it abolishes the right.", the Court (8:1) observed in its judgment.The court observed thus...
Google v. Oracle : Perspectives on Copyright, Fair Use and Industry Implications
On 5th April 2021 the United States Supreme Court (USSC) finally delivered its verdict on the most keenly watched copyright dispute of this century. USSC's 6-2 decision is a big win for Google as it overturned the 2018 decision of Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which decided in favour of Oracle. USSC held that Google's use of the Java Application Program Interface was a fair use as...
Google's Copying Of Oracle's Java SE API Was 'Fair Use', Holds US Supreme Court
Putting an end to a decade long copyright battle between Google and Oracle, the Supreme Court of United States, held that Google's copying of the Java SE API was a fair use of that material.The court (6:2) noted that the API included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program.Oracle had sued Google...
Recording Sexual History Of Rape Victim By Carrying Out "Two-finger Test" Or "Virginity Test" Unconstitutional: Pakistan Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pakistan observed that recording sexual history of the victim by carrying out "two-finger test" (TFT) or the "virginity test" is unconstitutional.Dragging sexual history of the rape survivor into the case by making observations about her body including observations like "the vagina admits two fingers easily" or "old ruptured hymen" is an affront to the reputation and...
Uber Drivers Are 'Workers'; Not Independent Contractors : United Kingdom Supreme Court
The United Kingdom Supreme Court held on Friday that Uber drivers are "workers" for the purposes of employment legislation which gives "workers" rights to be paid at least the national minimum wage, to receive annual paid leave and to benefit from certain other protectionsThe seven judges of the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the argument of Uber company that the drivers should...
Surveillance Of Private Communications Limits Right To Privacy: South Africa Constitutional Court Holds Its Surveillance Law Unconstitutional
Surveillance of private communications limits the right to privacy, the Constitutional Court of South Africa observed while holding that the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act, 2002 RICA) is unconstitutional.The Court upheld declaration of unconstitutionality by the High Court to the extent that the RICA fails to— (a) provide...
Daniel Pearl Kidnap & Murder: Pakistan Supreme Court Acquits Accused; Orders Their Release
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted the accused in Daniel Pearl Kidnap and Murder case and ordered their release.The majority of 2 to 1 upheld the Sindh High Court order acquitting the accused and also allowed the appeal filed by Ahmed Omer Shaikh against his conviction under section 362 of Pakistan Penal Code. Justice Mushir Alam authored the Majority order in which it is stated that...
US Executes 52 Year Old Lisa Montgomery, First Female Death Row Convict In Over 70 Years
Lisa Montgomery, a 52 year old woman, was executed on Wednesday by lethal injection after the US Supreme Court denied the application of stay of execution. Montgomery, the only woman on the death row, was the first woman to be executed by the US government in over 7 decades. It is however pertinent to note that the she was one of the three death row convicts who were scheduled to...
Two Finger Test On Rape Victims Unconstitutional,Violates Personal Dignity Of Woman, Holds Lahore High Court, Quotes Indian Precedents
The Lahore High Court has held that two finger test and the hymen test carried out for the purposes of ascertaining the virginity of a female victim of rape or sexual abuse is unconstitutional.The court held that such tests are unscientific having no medical basis and also offends the personal dignity of the female victim.Justice Ayesha A. Malik held that such tests are discriminatory and...