Blog
Promoting dialogue between human rights researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from around the world.
Original contributions on recent human rights law developments across the globe, including case law, current litigation, legislation, policy-making and activism are welcome.
To contribute, read our guidelines or contact our editorial team: oxfordhumanrightshub@law.ox.ac.uk
Ayushi Agarwal 12th December 2017
In a recent case, Independent Thought v. Union of India and Anr, a division bench of the Supreme Court of India partially read down an archaic exception to the offense of rape, finding that a husband who rapes his minor wife cannot be exempted from prosecution. Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) […]
Loureen Sayej 11th December 2017
In a proclamation signed on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, departing from the policy of successive US administrations which recognized the status of Jerusalem as that of an occupied territory. Trump’s declaration was followed by international recriminations. The status of Jerusalem is a matter of high contention. While Israel […]
Jennifer Tridgell 8th December 2017
In a giant step forward for LGBTIQ rights, same-sex marriage (SSM) in Australia was legalised on 7 December 2017. This result was uplifting, but also bittersweet. The Australian Government could have legalised SSM quickly and painlessly months ago. Instead, it forged ahead with a controversial postal survey, which divided a nation and damaged the LGBTIQ community. […]
Daniel Grütters 6th December 2017
Last month the High Court in Kampala declined to issue a provisional arrest warrant for visiting President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir. The decision followed an application by the Uganda Victims’ Foundation (UVF), a coalition of human rights groups, while President Bashir was in Uganda. UVF argued that as a State Party to the Rome Statute […]
Max Camphausen 4th December 2017
In its decision from October 10 2017, published on November 8 – just on the Intersex Day of Solidarity – the German Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has ruled that certain provisions in the ‘law of personal state’ (“Personenstandsgesetz”) violated the rights of intersex people and were therefore unconstitutional. The provisions in question required the sex of […]