The 2024 US presidential election will be historic on several fronts. It will be the first rematch between presidential candidates since Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower faced down Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1956. At 81 and 77 respectively, incumbent candidate Joe Biden and his adversary Donald Trump are the oldest major party frontrunners in the history [...]
Search Results for: 2016-05-18
Explainer: US Supreme Court Prepares for Oral Arguments in Local Corruption Case
The US Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in Snyder v. United States, a case involving illegal gratuities paid to a local government official. The issue is whether the federal government can use 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B)—known as federal funds bribery—to prosecute those who give and take illegal gratuities or whether the statute only [...]
Echoes of Dostoevsky: An Appeal Against Alabama's Deadly Experiment
As we prepare to usher in 2024, the outlook on Alabama’s administration of the death penalty holds many terrible knowns, and an even greater number of grim unknowns. At the top of any capital punishment-watcher’s list: Is Alabama really going to move forward with the first state-sanctioned nitrogen gassing execution in US history? If all goes according [...]
Nadia Murad, a human rights activist and recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, and Yazidi-Americans filed a civil lawsuit against French industrial company Lafarge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday. The complaints are under civil provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, intending to obtain compensation from Lafarge [...]
New Jersey governor used public expense account to spend $12,000 at stadium events
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy used his public, taxpayer-funded expense account to spend almost $12,000 at events at MetLife Stadium in northern New Jersey, including a Taylor Swift concert, according to records reviewed by POLITICO this week. The expenses started accumulating when Murphy took office in 2018, but have not grown since 2019. POLITICO obtained [...]
In Kenya, Is Public Participation in Governance Purely Cosmetic?
In June 2023, Kenyan High Court Judge Mugure Thande issued conservatory orders temporarily halting the implementation of the controversial 2023 2023 Finance Act. These orders were later upheld by Justice Thande in July, and the case was referred to Chief Justice, Martha Koome, to empanel a bench for further proceedings. Subsequently, a 3-judge bench, led [...]
Israel, Counter-Terrorism, and International Law: The Analytic Challenges of 'System'
“The existence of `system’ in the world is obvious to every observer of nature, no matter whom.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man (1959) Whether conspicuous or obscure, terrorism generally presents itself as a systemic challenge. This means, inter alia, that seemingly singular strategic and legal matters may actually be many-sided and interrelated. Regarding legal issues, though [...]
Nepal’s Interim Verdict on Same-Sex Marriage—a Clarion Call for India?
The Nepal Supreme Court’s June 28 ruling requiring the government to register same-sex relationships follows an arduous struggle to achieve marriage equality in the South Asian nation. This historic order is expected to have an impact on an upcoming verdict regarding a similar plea at the Supreme Court of India. Despite India’s decriminalization of queer [...]
Hong Kong pro-democracy radio station closed down under National Security Law
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy online radio station Citizen Radio aired their final broadcast on Friday, with the founder expressing hardships under “dangerous” political environment. Tsang Kin-shing, a veteran political activist, wrote in the closing Facebook post of the radio station about their difficulties faced since pro-democracy movements in the city in 2014 and 2019. Under the [...]
HRW: Burkina Faso militia implicated in executions and torturing civilians
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Thursday three episodes involving the militia in Burkina Faso have resulted in the forced disappearances and purported deaths of 18 men, the execution of at least nine men and the severe beating of children between the ages of 6 and 16. The armed forces allegedly committed these atrocities during [...]