Foreign/International
US Supreme Court Partially Allows President Donald Trump’s Executive Order On Travel Ban [Read Order]
The United States Supreme court (SCOTUS) in Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project has partially allowed President Trump’s Travel Ban order that imposes a ban on entry of individuals from six countries namely, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.Allowing the petition for certiorari and partially allowing the stay applications on preliminary injunctions granted by the...
European Parliament Condemns Pakistan’s Use Of Military Courts And Misuse Of Blasphemy Laws [Read Resolution]
Amid the ongoing row over death verdict awarded to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan’s Military Court, the European Parliament on Thursday issued a resolution condemning the use of Military Courts in Pakistan.The European Parliament demanded that the Pakistani authorities grant access to international observers and human rights organizations for monitoring the functioning of...
US Supreme Court Strikes Down Citizenship Law Favoring Unwed Mothers Over Unwed Fathers
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down federal citizenship rules that made it tougher for foreign-born children of American men to become citizens than children born abroad to American women.The impugned law required that unwed fathers who are American citizens spend at least five years living in the United States - a 2012 amendment reduced it from 10 years - before they can...
Head Of Palestinian Islamic Sharia Courts Puts An Embargo On Divorce During Ramzan
Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Supreme Judge of Sharia Courts of the State of Palestine, has directed judges not to grant divorces during the month of Ramzan.According to Al Jazeera, Judge Habbash’s reasoning for the same was based on his “experience of previous years” where he found that the people tend to make hasty “ill-considered decisions” during this time as they have not eaten or...
Trump Issued Immigration Ban In Bad Faith: Appeals Court Upholds Stay
The Virginia-based 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower Court ruling against President Donald Trump’s revised executive order banning entry to the US from six majority-Muslim countries. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has, however, vowed to appeal to the Supreme Court.“Surely the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment yet stands as an untiring sentinel for...
First In Asia: Taiwan Constitutional Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriages, Amendments To Be Made Within 2 Years
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday paved way for the island to become the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, after it struck down the Civil Code’s definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman.The Court has now directed the authorities concerned to amend or enact relevant laws in accordance with the ruling, within two years. If the legislature...
Neil Gorsuch Sworn In As US Supreme Court Judge
Neil Gorsuch was, on Monday, sworn in as the Supreme Court’s ninth Judge, filling the seat once held by the late conservative icon Antonin Scalia. At 49, Justice Gorsuch is the youngest Supreme Court Nominee since George H. W. Bush in 1991 picked Clarence Thomas who was 43 at the time.Justice Gorsuch took the Constitutional Oath in a private ceremony, administered by Chief Justice John...
Companies Cannot Discriminate Against LGBT Employees: US Court Of Appeals [Read Opinion]
In a ruling that is being termed as a “game changer”, the full 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago recently ruled that Companies cannot discriminate against their LGBT employees because of their sexual orientation. Delivering a ruling by a majority of 8-3, the Court observed that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation amounts to sexual discrimination, and therefore...
Singapore Supreme Court Upholds Compensation For “Subversion Of Genetic Affinity”[Read Judgment]
The Supreme Court of Singapore recently ruled that parents can claim compensation for subversion of their interest in “genetic affinity” with their children.“In our judgment, the Appellant’s interest in maintaining the integrity of her reproductive plans in this very specific sense – where she has made a conscious decision to have a child with her Husband to maintain...
European Court of Justice Restricts ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ [Read Judgment]
The European Court of Justice, on Thursday, ruled that individuals cannot demand removal of personal data from company records in an official register, thereby restricting the “right to be forgotten” to that extent.Such disclosure, it opined, was justified in view of the need to protect the interests of third parties, and to ensure legal certainty and fair trading, and thus the...
‘Regressive Laws’ Continue To Curb Freedom Of Speech & Expression In India: Amnesty Annual Report [Read Report]
In its annual State of World’s Human Rights Report for 2016-17, Amnesty International (AI) has said the authorities have used repressive laws to curb freedom of expression and to silence critics.The NGO report highlights and expresses serious concerns over burning human rights issues plaguing the nation.The report slams the repeated use of sedition laws in the country to curb freedom of...
US Court Refuses Trump’s Plea To Reinstate Travel Ban [Read Order]
In a major legal blow to President Donald Trump’s controversial scheme of temporarily prohibiting people from seven Muslim majority countries, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the suspension of the executive order. A three-judge bench unanimously rejected the appeal to reinstate the ban.The bench comprising circuit judges William C Canby, Richard R Clifton and Michelle T...