Hong Kong's National Security Law: Not A Balancing Act Between Security And Liberty

As Hong Kong is poised to enact a new national security law, concerns are rippling through the international legal community. The legislation is seen as a deviation from the promised civil liberties in the "one country, two systems" framework established when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.Amid fears of broad surveillance and censorship resembling mainland China, businesses...

Supreme Court To Weigh Trump's Immunity Claim In Election Interference Case

In a pivotal decision with potential implications for the 2024 presidential election, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of former President Donald Trump, who asserts absolute immunity from prosecution in connection with allegations of interference in the 2020 election. This move could significantly impact the timing of the trial, potentially delaying it until after the...

Court of Arbitration For Sport Upholds International Olympic Committee's Decision To Suspend Russian Olympic Committee

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed Russia's bid to reverse the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to suspend its official status. The IOC took this action after Russia attempted to absorb Ukrainian sports organizations following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Established in 1984, the CAS is a global organization dedicated to resolving sports-related...

Was World's Richest Person Overpaid? Delaware Court Says Yes, Tosses Out Elon Musk's $56b 'Unprecedented' Tesla Pay Package

In a challenge to billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla pay package of approx. $56bn, a Delaware court on Tuesday ruled in favor of plaintiff-shareholder(s) who pleaded that it was excessive.The judge, Kathaleen McCormick of Delaware's Court of Chancery, held that the compensation plan was subject to review under the "entire fairness standard" and the burden to prove that it was fair was on...

Israel Supreme Court Strikes Down Part Of Controversial Judicial Overhaul Law By 8:7 Majority

A part of the judicial overhaul law passed by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in July last year has been struck down by the country's top Court by an 8:7 majority. Unprecedented in ways more than one, the ruling came this Monday with majority judges agreeing to nullification of the law, which was introduced as an amendment to a Basic Law (Israeli courts, in...

Sandra Day O'Connor, First Female Judge Of US Supreme Court, Passes Away At 93

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to be appointed as a Justice to the US Supreme Court, passed away yesterday of complications related to dementia and respiratory illness. In a press release by the US Supreme Court, Chief Justice John G Roberts Jr. remembered Justice O'Connor as an “eloquent advocate of civic education”, saying that she blazed a historic trail as...

‘Inhumane, Violates Right To Dignity’, Kenya Court Declares Mandatory Life Imprisonment Unconstitutional

The Kenya Court of Appeal has declared the imposition of mandatory life imprisonment as unconstitutional, while hearing a rape case committed on a four-year-old girl in 2013. Partially allowing the appeal, it modified the life imprisonment sentence to imprisonment of 40 years for the convict.Article 27 of the Constitution of Kenya ensures fundamental right to equality before the law and...

Thumbs Up Emoji (👍) Amounts To Acceptance, Binds Parties Under A Legal Contract: Canada Court

The King's Bench of Saskatchewan in Canada has held that sending a thumbs up emoji in response to a contract will amount to acceptance and bind the parties under a legal contract. The Canadian Court awarded $82,200.21 to the crop seller for breach of contract as he had failed to deliver the crop to the seller after responding to the contract on message with a thumbs up emoji.Rejecting...

UN Human Rights Council Appoints Advocate Vrinda Grover As Member Of Ukraine Commission Of Inquiry

Advocate Vrinda Grover has been appointed as a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine by the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ambassador Václav Bálek (Czechia)."A practicing advocate in India, Grover has more than 34 years of experience in constitutional law, criminal law and human rights. She has appeared as counsel in landmark...

Indus Water Treaty: Hague Court of Arbitration Says It Is Competent To Decide Proceedings Initiated By Pakistan; India Rejects Ruling

Rejecting India's objections, the Permanent Court Of Arbitration at The Hague has ruled that it is competent to decide the proceedings instituted by Pakistan in relation to the Indus Water Treaty in 2016. Pakistan had approached the court over the design and operation of run-of-river hydro-electric plants on the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers and their tributaries. India had said the Court...

Uganda Enacts Anti-Homosexuality Act Prescribing Death Penalty For ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’

The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni has assented to the stringent Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023. The law was initially passed by Parliament on March 22, 2023, having been introduced as a Private Member Bill. Though the Bill received unanimous legislative support, it was returned to the Parliament by the President on April 27, 2023 suggesting some changes. The House reconsidered the Bill...

Israel’s Judicial Reform Bill: A Threat To Judicial Independence & Democracy?

On February 20, 2023, two bills that aim to "overhaul Israel's judiciary" were approved by a vote of 63 to 47 in the 120-member Parliament of Israel, just barely after midnight. In the middle of continuous demonstrations in which tens of thousands of Israelis assembled on the streets and blocked highways heading towards the capital city of Jerusalem, the far-right government...