JURIST

AUGUST 20, 2023

Pakistani President Arif Alvi announced on social media Sunday that he asked his staff to return a pending espionage bill and a pending military bill to Parliament unsigned, raising constitutional concerns from the country’s Ministry of Law and Justice. The two bills at issue are the Official Secrets Amendment Bill 2023 and the Pakistan Army Amendment Bill 2023.

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JURIST

AUGUST 10, 2023

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. This past Saturday, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was arrested after a trial court in Islamabad found him guilty in the Toshakhana reference case.

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JURIST

AUGUST 9, 2023

Two teachers’ unions joined six professors in Idaho to bring a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the No Public Funds for Abortion Act (NPFAA), an Idaho law that prohibits the use of public funds to provide, promote, or counsel in favor of abortion. According to a press release from the plaintiffs’ counsel the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the law effectively “censors teaching, discussion, and scholarship about abortion at Idaho’s public universities.

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JURIST

AUGUST 8, 2023

The UK Government began housing asylum seekers on Monday on a residential barge in Portland. The Home Office announced that the government intends to increase the number of asylum seekers onboard this “alternative accommodation option” over the coming months. The first cohort of 15 asylum seekers boarded the vessel , Bibby Stockholm barge, on Monday.

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JURIST

AUGUST 8, 2023

The UK government announced a new task force to target “crooked” immigration lawyers on Tuesday. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said lawyers who assist migrants with bogus asylum claims are common and “must be rooted out and brought to justice.” The Home Secretary’s comments came after reports emerged in the Daily Mail of solicitors telling an undercover journalist posing as an economic migrant to arrange a sham marriage to stay in the country.

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JURIST

JULY 14, 2023

Taiwan’s Executive Yuan approved draft amendments to several laws against sexual harassment on Thursday amid a recent surge in high-profile allegations of sexual harassment on the island. In recent months, the #MeToo movement has gained momentum in Taiwan, with many female victims standing up against perpetrators of sexual harassment. The movement launched in May when ruling Democratic Progress Party (DPP) worker Chen Chien-jou accused film director and DPP member Hsueh Chao-hui of sexual

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JURIST

JULY 4, 2023

Activist groups filed a complaint with the Department of Education against Harvard University challenging its legacy admissions policy on Monday. The complaint comes days after the US Supreme Court rejected the use of race in college admissions, known as affirmative action, upending years of precedent. The lawsuit alleges that applicants who have relatives that went to Harvard and/or were wealthy donors to the university are “flagged at the outset” of the admission process, making these applican

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JURIST

JUNE 14, 2023

The EU passed The Artificial Intelligence Act on Wednesday which is a draft law that establishes restrictions on the uses of artificial intelligence (AI). As one of the first legislative moves by a controlling body to regulate AI, the act may serve as a model for policymakers across the globe. “[T]he EU is committed to strive for a balanced approach,” the proposal reads.

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JURIST

JUNE 4, 2023

The Senegal government announced a blanket ban on the use of social media Friday, following clashes between police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko that left nine people dead. In a televised press conference, Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome claimed that some social media sites were utilized by demonstrators to incite violence, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

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JURIST

JUNE 3, 2023

Floridians gathered across the state Thursday to protest a recently enacted law that imposes restrictions on undocumented immigrants. In what protesters dubbed, “a day without immigrants,” thousands walked off the job to voice their disapproval of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s approval of Senate Bill (SB) 1718. In Immo kalee , Florida, dozens of businesses closed in support of the protest.

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JURIST

JUNE 3, 2023

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) suggested on Thursday that Frontex (European Coast Guard Agency) is violating rights and data protection laws by not handling migrant data correctly when processing debriefing interviews before handing the data to Europol (EU’s police agency). The EDPS published a report based on an audit held in October 2022, which identified 36 findings, including Frontex using debriefing interviews to collect personal data which would allow the interviewee

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JURIST

JUNE 3, 2023

Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) submitted a court application, known as a mandamus, in federal court Friday urging Canadian Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino to deny former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett entry into Canada. The organizations that filed the mandamus include the Palestinian and Jewish Unity, Just Peace Advocates and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.

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JURIST

JUNE 2, 2023

Australia’s most decorated living war veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith resigned Friday from his position with Seven West Media following a guilty verdict in a historic defamation case against multiple news companies, who accused Roberts-Smith of committing war crimes during his enlistment in Afghanistan. The Sydney Morning Herald published the first group of articles about Roberts-Smith on June 8 and 9, 2018.

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JURIST

JUNE 2, 2023

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill Thursday that would have criminalized fake elector schemes in the state. Fake elector schemes came to national attention during the 2020 presidential election, during which several swing states saw the creation of fake electoral college slates in favor of former President Donald Trump even though he lost the states’ popular votes to current President Joe Biden.

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JURIST

MAY 18, 2023

The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not need to provide notice to delinquent taxpayers of summons made against them to collect outstanding federal taxes. This does not apply to summons to determine whether a taxpayer owes an outstanding amount, only summons to collect. The case, Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service , concerned a delinquent taxpayer, Remo Polselli, who underpaid his federal taxes and had an outstanding balance of over $2 million.

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JURIST

MAY 8, 2023

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government Tuesday introduced a bill to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to 14. The Justice (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 has been introduced in the Legislative Assembly, making the ACT the first Australian jurisdiction to increase the age of criminal responsibility to 14.

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JURIST

MAY 2, 2023

Three environmental advocacy groups and one Native American organization Monday sued the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), alleging the agency failed to undertake a thorough environmental impact analysis after a SpaceX rocket exploded in Boca Chia, Texas, last week. The complaint alleges the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which requires federal agencies to consider and examine environmental effects before granting licenses or allowing federal projects.

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JURIST

MAY 2, 2023

The Supreme Court of Nepal Tuesday instructed the government to legally recognize same-sex marriage. They further recommended a five-step plan in order to allow same-sex couples and non-cisgender individuals to get married in line with a 2015 court-ordered report , which has not yet been acted upon by the government. In the latest of many recent pro-LGBTI (the term most commonly used for the LGBTQ+ community in Nepal) rulings, the court found that failure to recognize same-sex marriage violates

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JURIST

APRIL 23, 2023

The Group of 7 (G7) Agriculture Ministers Sunday agreed to assist Ukraine as it rebuilds its agriculture system and condemned Russia’s “war of aggression” on Ukraine. The ministers stated: We stand ready to support the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, including by sharing our experience, knowledge and expertise regarding demining of agricultural land, and by reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation, warehouses and food processing facilities destro

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JURIST

APRIL 23, 2023

Israeli officials Sunday arrested Jordanian parliament member Imad al-Adwan for allegedly smuggling over 200 weapons and an estimated six million dollars worth of gold into the West Bank. Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sinan al-Majali issued a statement saying that “t he ministry and all relevant agencies in the kingdom are working to ascertain the details of this issue and address it as quickly as possible.” Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israeli news outlet Ynet that

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JURIST

APRIL 21, 2023

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Thursday became the first Australian jurisdiction to guarantee free abortion care. The new policy allows women living in the ACT to obtain abortion up to 16 weeks gestation. The ACT government noted that cost was a significant barrier to safe and legal abortions in the state. In a press release, the government said, “Making these services free for all ACT residents, including those without access to Medicare, gives pregnant people greater ability to m

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JURIST

APRIL 24, 2023

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Sunday condemned the US for prohibiting Russian journalists from covering Lavrov’s speech before the UN in New York. Lavrov called the decision “a really stupid thing” in an appearance before reporters in Russia. The US State Department has not responded to Lavrov’s comments. Speaking to reporters, Lavrov said he had not expected the US to deny the journalists’ visa requests.

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APRIL 24, 2023

The US Supreme Court Monday declined to hear five appeals from fossil fuel companies requesting to have their cases moved from state to federal courts. All five petitions concern whether federal common law, which is law developed over time by courts, or state law applies to lawsuits over greenhouse-gas emissions that cross state lines. Each petition focuses on two federal statutes regarding the transfer of a case to federal court: 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331. § 1441(a) allows a part

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

The US Supreme Court Tuesday denied to block the execution of an inmate in Florida. With no listed dissents, the court denied Louis Gaskin’s petition for a grant to stay his upcoming execution. Louis Gaskin, who is set to be executed Wednesday, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder in 1990. Florida prosecutors charged Gaskin with the killing of Robert and Georgette Sturmfels.

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

Manhattan District Attorney (DA) Alvin Bragg Tuesday requested the US District Court for the Southern District of New York block a subpoena issued by the Republican-controlled US House Judiciary Committee. The subpoena , issued two days after the April 4 arraignment of former President Donald Trump, seeks the testimony of Mark Pomerantz, a former Special Assistant District Attorney who participated in an investigation of Trump and his businesses.

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) Tuesday released a draft law detailing new regulations for providers of artificial intelligence (AI) products. The new law will require these providers to report to the Ministry of Cyberspace affairs and ensure their product undergoes a security assessment before it can be released to the public. Although all AI products developed in China will need to be assessed before public use, the law also outlined that the state supports the “independent innova

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

The Department of Defense (DoD) Tuesday announced that it opened a criminal investigation into the apparent leak of classified documents online in recent weeks. The leaked documents include classified Ukrainian war plans and sensitive materials regarding US allies. Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Chris Meagher said, the DoD will “review and assess the veracity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites, and that appear in some cases to

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

The UN Tuesday said they are forced to make an “appalling choice” on whether to continue operations in Afghanistan since the Taliban government decided to ban women from working for the UN. The Taliban’s decision to ban women workers from the UN is the latest development in the Taliban’s ongoing crackdown on women, who have already been banned from higher education as well as domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

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JURIST

APRIL 11, 2023

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Tuesday released a report detailing Americans’ experiences with gun violence. The report demonstrated a disproportionate effect of gun violence on people of color. The report surveyed 1,271 U.S. adults about their personal experience with guns. Of those surveyed, 21 percent reported being personally threatened with a gun and 19 percent reported having a family member killed by a gun (including suicide).

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JURIST

APRIL 10, 2023

Indian law students are reporting for JURIST on law-related developments in and affecting India. This dispatch is from Nakul Rai Khurana, a law student at Jindal Global Law School. ‘Mission Save Constitution’, an organization headed by Indian advocate Mehmood Pracha, has called for a people’s protest march on April 14, 2023 to ensure and uphold the “Independence of the judiciary” in India.

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JURIST

APRIL 10, 2023

Chinese authorities Monday sentenced two of the country’s most prominent human rights activists to prison for the crime of “subversion of state power.” Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi were sentenced in a court in the Shandong province to 14 years and 12 years in prison, respectively. Senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch Yaqiu Wang called on international governments to remand the release of the two activists “immediately and unconditionally.” Both men have been k

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JURIST

APRIL 10, 2023

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Friday ruled that an Indiana school district did not violate a teacher’s right to exercise their religious practices after the school terminated the teacher for refusing to use students’ preferred names or pronouns as required by school policy. US Circuit Court Judge Ilana Rovner found that the teacher’s refusal to follow the school’s policy created an undue hardship on the school’s ability to educate and create a s

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JURIST

APRIL 9, 2023

China Friday imposed additional sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador and representative to the US, prohibiting her and her family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Hsiao commented on the sanctions on Twitter, saying , “Wow, the [People’s Republic of China] just sanctioned me again, for the second time,” alongside a photo of the Taiwan Affairs Office statement.

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JURIST

APRIL 9, 2023

Togo’s National Assembly Thursday voted in favor of extending a state of security emergency in the Savanes region for another year. The measure follows a recent increase in incursions from terrorist groups near the country’s northern borders. The measure, authorized by Togolese National Assembly President Chantal Yawa Djigbodi Tségan , is a further extension to President Faure Gnassingbé’s initial state of emergency decreed in June 2022.

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JURIST

MARCH 19, 2023

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan Saturday appeared in court in Islamabad after failing to do so two weeks prior. Many of Khan’s supporters surrounded his vehicle as he tried to enter court, leading to clashes with police in the capital. Khan was found guilty by the Election Commission of Pakistan of illegally retaining and selling state gifts from foreign dignitaries in October 2022.

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JURIST

MARCH 19, 2023

College students in Idaho Friday sued the Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane in his official capacity to overturn House Bill 124 , which removes student ID cards as a valid form of voter identification at polling locations from the Idaho Code. The case is in the US District Court for the District of Idaho. The complaint alleges that the new law is intended to make it harder for young voters to vote, violating the 26th Amendment of the US Constitution.

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JURIST

MARCH 16, 2023

Aynsley Genga is a JURIST Staff Correspondent in Kenya. The Kenyan shilling fell to an all time low of 129.24 shillings per dollar on Monday, signaling an increase in the cost of living amid market dollar scarcity. Dollars are becoming more and more difficult to acquire as the days progress, since even most banks do not have enough to exchange. Moreover, banks and forex bureaus are selling the dollar at around 143 shillings due to rationing which has made the acquisition of dollars even more dif

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