Palestinian Statehood and Demilitarization: A Falsifying Conjunction
“For by wise counsel, thou shalt make thy war.” Proverbs 24:6 Though one might think otherwise, there is no Palestinian state at present, nor has there ever been such a state in the past. Still, once the current Gaza War comes to an end – and whatever the tangible correlates of any war termination agreements [...]
Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired United States Army Colonel who held key roles in government, including serving as Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2002 to 2005. Wilkerson played a role in preparing US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s presentation in 2003 at the United Nations in making the case for [...]
The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (AIJA) Sunday hosted the Indigenous Youth Justice Conference, which adopted a joint resolution calling to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. The conference examined “many complex issues associated with Indigenous youth justice” and promoted “meaningful discussion about ways to improve the situation.” The conference, held [...]
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Violations of International Law
On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russian forces have attacked different parts of Ukraine using both ground troops as well as air strikes. So far, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have died as a result of Russian attacks. By so blatantly attacking Ukraine, another sovereign country, Russia has [...]
Going Back to Zero: How the Afghan Legal and Judicial System is Collapsing Under the Taliban Regime
The international community and the United States spent billions of dollars on rebuilding the Afghan legal and judicial system and improving the rule of law and governance over the past two decades. However, after the Taliban takeover, any such progress and achievements quickly disappeared and the foundations for the Afghan legal system that had been [...]
New Zealand Chief Ombudsman finds prison breached Torture Convention
New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier released on Monday a report identifying breaches of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Auckland Prison. The report follows an eight-day unannounced inspection of Auckland Prison, the country’s only maximum-security facility, which took place between January and February. Boshier wrote the report [...]
Serbia Introduced the Life Sentence without Parole, Despite its International Obligations
On Tuesday, May 21, the Serbian National Assembly passed the Criminal Code amendment which introduced significant changes into the criminal justice system, out of which the most controversial one is the sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP). The LWOP is now prescribed as a possible sentence for some of the most [...]
While transgender people have existed since the dawn of time, the last decade has seen an increasing spotlight on the community and transgender people’s right to recognition and protection. While this has taken on many different angles, federal and state administrations have come under scrutiny in the last few weeks for choices to exclude transgender people [...]
Here's the international legal news we covered this week: Peru's Congress voted by a wide margin on Thursday to begin impeachment proceedings against President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for a...
JUIRST Guest Columnist Bruce Ledewitz discusses the potential implications of courts taking a stand on gerrymandering....The unseemly haste of the recently elected Democratic Party majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has undermined the impact of a path breaking decision to...
