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Victoria Miyandazi - 1st February 2021
On 11 January 2021, the Kenyan Supreme Court delivered the judgment in Mitu-Bell Welfare Society. The case concerned the unlawful eviction and demolition of the homes of over 3,000 families residing in an informal settlement on public land for over 19 years. The forced eviction took place without due notice and despite a High Court […]
Andrew Hilland - 30th January 2021
On entering office last week, President Joe Biden was greeted by an in-tray unprecedented in US history: a global pandemic that has already claimed 400,000 American lives, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the repercussions of a violent insurrection orchestrated by the outgoing President. Yet Biden has also undertaken to restore US […]
David S Ma - 30th January 2021
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (“HKCFA”) recently held that the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation(“PFCR”) was constitutional. The PFCR was introduced by the Chief Executive in Council on 4 October 2019 and became effective on 5 October 2019. It sought to subdue ongoing social movements by prohibiting the wearing of face coverings “likely […]
Alvin Attalo - 30th January 2021
The Kenyan Supreme Court has overturned a Court of Appeal decision which found that the forceful eviction of the inhabitants of Mitumba village was not in violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms. The appellate decision, which I criticized here, not only shut the door on the use of structural interdicts in Kenya, but also […]
Barbara Havelková & Terezie Boková - 29th January 2021
The recent decision of the Czech Constitutional Court (‘CCC’), Pl. ÚS 6/20, against allowing recognition of foreign adoption decisions in Czechia is harmful in outcome and evasive and formalistic in its reasoning. The case was brought by a same-sex couple who are civil partners and adoptive parents to two children under the law of New […]
Edwin Cameron - 29th January 2021
Statement by Edwin Cameron, Retired Justice, South African Constitutional Court. The President of Magdalen prosecutes a homophobic case to deny LGBTIQ persons in the Cayman Islands equal rights. I express my distress and dismay that Ms Dinah Rose QC, the new President of Magdalen, is lead counsel on behalf of the government of the Cayman […]
Sfiso Nxumalo - 27th January 2021
The banning of US President Donald Trump from Twitter and many other social media platforms, after his public utterances and tweets were said to have led to the insurrection and violent siege of the Capitol, has been celebrated by many, with some commenting that Trump should have been de-platformed a long time ago. While many […]
Ewelina U. Ochab - 27th January 2021
In the previous post, I highlighted the UK Government’s reluctance to endorse the Genocide Amendment. A central objection raised by the Government was that the determination of genocide should be made by ‘international judicial bodies’ and not the High Court. In one of its responses, the UK Government argued that it would accept as a […]
Ewelina U. Ochab - 27th January 2021
On 7 December 2020, the House of Lords debated the Trade Bill that defines the UK’s post-Brexit trade relationships and engaged with the question of what should happen if the trading partner stands accused of committing genocide. A few members tabled a cross-party amendment, the so-called Genocide Amendment (also known as the Alton Amendment) that […]
- 27th January 2021
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Committee on Forest Encroachments has recently published a list of forestland encroachers in the Union Territory (UT) pursuant to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the J&K High Court. The PIL demanded the settlement of pending complaints against forestland encroachment. The Court ruled that for such an exercise to […]
Mwai Daka - 25th January 2021
Zambia has signed indemnity agreements with numerous multinational corporations investing in her mining sector. The agreements enable subsidiaries of international firms to be exempted from liability for environmental pollution that affects both the ecosystem and humans that inhabit it. Though Zambian courts have enjoyed some success in hold mining companies liable for environmental degradation, indemnity […]
Dalia Palombo - 23rd January 2021
As a business and human rights scholar, I often argue that we need to regulate and limit transnational corporate power. My focus is on multinational enterprises, typically headquartered in the West, and abusing environmental and human rights in the Global South. As I write, two of these cases are pending: one in front of the US […]