European Court of Human Rights finds Poland court violated woman's privacy rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday in a 5-2 vote that a Polish court violated a woman’s right to private and family life by forcing her to travel abroad to receive an abortion due to a fetal anomaly. In her petition to the ECHR, the applicant asserted that in 2020, she underwent [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that the Italian government breached its human rights obligations by failing to address a garbage and pollution problem linked to increased mortality and cancer rates in Italy’s Campania region. The case was brought by 19 Italians who alleged that the government breached its human rights obligations by [...]
How a National Human Rights Act Could Change Rights Protection in Australia
Australia is the only Western democracy not to have a Human Rights Act in its legal system or constitution. Instead, Australia has a patchwork of rights, leaning on individual legislation, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, implied rights, common law, and state-by-state legislation. As noted by the Australian Human Rights Commission, “There are five [...]
The Impact of Stagnant Legal Aid Rates on Access to Justice in Australia
Access to justice is a foundational principle of the rule of law and is often phrased as requiring “the right of equal access to justice for all” through governments providing “fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services.” In Australia, this principle was described in Dietrich v. The Queen as “the equal justice for all principle.” [...]
US releases Afghan Guantánamo Bay detainee after 15 years of incarceration
The US Department of Defense Friday announced the release of Asadullah Haroon Gul, an Afghan national who had been held for 15 years without charge in the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Gul was incarcerated in Guantánamo Bay in 2007 on accusations of being a member of Al-Qaeda and Hezb-e-Islami (HIA), an insurgent group that fought [...]
Account holders sue PayPal for allegedly withholding account funds
Account holders Thursday filed a class action lawsuit against PayPal in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs alleged that PayPal violated racketeering laws under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. PayPal also allegedly violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and the California Business & Professions Code. Plaintiffs [...]
Fish and Wildlife Service sued for failing to act on endangered species proposals
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on Thursday for failing to classify certain species as endangered within a reasonable time frame. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) created a system for processing requests to list species as threatened or endangered. Interested parties can submit a petition [...]
Government Actions: A Colossal Test of Safeguarding Rights Amidst Covid-19
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is now known to every country, city, town, village and family. The pandemic is spreading like wildfire and the human race is fighting every second to defeat this invisible enemy. On the 12th of March, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and India on 22nd March, 2020, initiated the Janta [...]
The US House of Representatives Oversight Committee voted Monday to block Washington, DC's Death with Dignity legislation . HJ Res 27 was voted out of committee by a 22-14 vote to begin the process of preventing...
The Non-Alligned Movement (NAM), a loose organization of 120 developing countries, stated on Thursday that the US has violated international law by allowing frozen Iranian assets to be dispersed to victims of terrorism. NAM's accusations specifically target last...
