Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s leadership, the Sri Lankan civil war reached a brutal conclusion on May 18, 2009, ending a 25-year-long conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist rebel group. Rooted in longstanding grievances, including discriminatory policies against Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, the conflict saw the [...]
Search Results for: 2009-02-11
Explainer: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Criminal Court
The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II). With both courts located in [...]
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 [...]
US Senate Judiciary Committee advances Supreme Court ethics reform bill
After a meeting Thursday morning, the US Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that proposes ethics reforms for the Supreme Court, which has recently faced a series of scandals involving Justices Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito. Bill S 359—also known as the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act—passed out of the Democratic-controlled [...]
Strengthening Global Justice: Renewed Commitment to Equal Access Should Mark ICC Anniversary Year
July 17 is the Day of International Criminal Justice. This year it also marks 25 years since the adoption of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC). ICC member countries will gather today at the United Nations headquarters in New York City to discuss strengthening political and practical support for [...]
JURIST Features Editor Ingrid Burke Friedman talked with Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti about the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti. Below is a transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for clarity. Could you please tell us more about your [...]
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Rabia Shuja holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Griffith College, Dublin and is Chief Correspondent for JURIST in Pakistan. She reports from Islamabad. Two weeks ago, on October 10th, a day after the [...]
Singapore court rejects appeal against execution of man with intellectual disability
The Singapore Court of Appeal Tuesday rejected an appeal against the execution of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national who was convicted of illegally importing 42.72 grams of diamorphine in 2009. Nagaenthran’s death penalty arises out of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), which provides for the mandatory death penalty in cases involving over 15 grams [...]
The Russian Federation Thursday announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe (“the Council”). The country claimed that EU and NATO countries are using their absolute majority to continue to destroy the Council, of which Russia will no longer will be a part. Russia joined the Council of Europe, a leading human rights organization of [...]
California sues Tesla for discrimination and harassment of Black workers
Following a three-year investigation, California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Tesla Motors and fifty representatives Thursday, alleging its work environment violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and other laws with regard to Black employees. In a complaint filed at the Alameda County Superior Court, the DFEH alleged “unchecked racism” in [...]