Security Council Paralysis in Face of Gaza Crisis Highlights Imperative of UN Reform
On November 15, 2023, more than five weeks after Hamas‘ heinous October 7 attack on Israel, and after thousands of lives were lost, the Security Council, the United Nations body with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, finally managed to pass a somewhat controversial resolution in response to the crisis. [...]
Rwanda appeals court upholds 25-year sentence for man who inspired Hotel Rwanda
The Rwanda appeals court Monday upheld Paul Rusesabagina’s 25-year sentence. In upholding the sentence, the court of appeals rejected the prosecutors’ demand for a life sentence. Rusesabagina’s supporters and international observers, such as TrialWatch and Amnesty International, called Rusesabagina’s first trial a sham. The 2021 sentencing was a result of his involvement in the 2018-2019 Rwandan [...]
The Biden Administration recently came to agreements with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala to increase their border enforcement. These agreements aim to reduce the number of migrants who are able to make their way to the US-Mexico border by extending American border defense thousands of miles south of that border. And they do so in a [...]
Eighteen US states have abolished the death penalty. Three states - Maine, Michigan and Wisconsin - have completely banned the death penalty since the mid-nineteenth century. Fifteen states abolished the death penalty at various points throughout the twentieth and twenty-first...
On Wednesday, Texas executed a Mexican national who was convicted of murdering a police officer in 1994. Controversy grew after the arrest because Edgar Arias Tamayo was not notified of his rights under Vienna Convention...
JURIST Guest Columnist Valerie Vollmar of Willamette University College of Law says the Georgia legislature seems to have acted hastily without thinking through the potential consequences of its new assisted suicide law, which differs dramatically from the legislative schemes in...
Rwanda high court rules opposition leader's trial will continue despite her refusal to attend
The Rwandan high court ruled Wednesday that the case against opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza will continue despite her announcement this week that she refuses to attend further proceedings. The court's ruling ...
Remembering the Purpose of the VAWA: Protecting Abused Immigrants
JURIST Assistant Editor Brandon Gatto, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Class of 2013, argues for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to better protect immigrant partners and spouses from abuse... (His opinions are not intended to represent...
Same-Sex Marriage and International Law in the Ninth Circuit
JURIST Guest Columnist Nathan Crombie, Columbia Law School Class of 2012, is currently researching the influence of international human rights law on same-sex marriage. Here he argues that international law should influence the Ninth Circuit's ruling on same-sex marriage...The US...
Supreme Court rules seriousness of drug offense determined at time of conviction
The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Monday in McNeill v. United States that a federal sentencing court must determine whether "an offense under State law" is...
