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Francesca Gallelli - 19th March 2019
Shamima Begum, the British teenager who left the UK to marry an ISIS fighter, was recently found in Syria and expressed the will to go back home. A few days later, the Home Secretary notified her family in London of the decision to revoke their daughter’s citizenship. Major international law experts have been quick in […]
Sakshi Aravind - 18th March 2019
The decision by New South Wales Land and Environment court, Australia, rejecting the appeal by Gloucester Resources for the proposed Rocky Hill coal mine in Hunter’s Valley, has gathered public interest for all the right reasons (Gloucester Resources v Minister of Planning “Gloucester Resources”). The decision emphasized the incompatibility between new coalmines and Australia’s obligations […]
Purushotham Kittane - 15th March 2019
The Indian Government’s Information Technology Ministry had recently invited comments on proposed amendments to the existing guidelines for intermediaries mainly governing how social networks (and other intermediaries) facilitate the flow of information. Through this, the State seeks to come down harshly on the spread of fake news. This comes to fore as the world’s largest […]
Martin Kwan - 15th March 2019
Canadian citizens who have resided abroad for five years or more did not have the right to vote in a federal election unless and until they resumed residence in Canada. The constitutionality of this limit on the right to vote was recently challenged in the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision of Frank v. Canada (Attorney […]
Nicole Busby - 14th March 2019
On 10th December 2018 the First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership set out its vision for the future of human rights in Scotland. The publication of the Group’s report on International Human Rights Day was the culmination of a participative process which stretched beyond its membership with representation from across civil society. The consideration of how […]
Prankul Boobana - 12th March 2019
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India (‘SC’) recently relaxed the stringent conditions imposed by the Maharashtra government for obtaining licenses and running dance bars, public establishments which are an important source of livelihood for female dancers. These dancers generally belong to the traditional dancing communities and are following their hereditary occupation. It […]
Leonie James - 11th March 2019
R (Johnson and others) and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] EWHC 23 (Admin) is an English High Court case relating to the benefit payment, Universal Credit. Universal Credit is a UK benefits payment, paid by the UK Government to support those out of work or in very low income work. In this […]
Azadeh Chalabi - 6th March 2019
What has been largely overlooked in the human rights theory and practice is what I would call the lack of “social will” as the twin concept of the lack of political will to implement universal human rights. Whereas the lack of political will is concerned with states’ rights practices, the lack of social will is […]
Alice Storey - 5th March 2019
Last week, the US Supreme Court spared the life of Vernon Madison, at least temporarily, by remanding his case back to the lower court to decide whether his dementia renders him unable to be executed. Whilst this was an important confirmation of death penalty precedent, the decision is perhaps even more interesting for the dynamics […]
Esteban Hoyos Ceballos - 4th March 2019
I had to take three flights and it took me almost 24 hours to get to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from Medellin, my hometown. Once there, the weather, the music, the food and the roads immediately reminded me of the Colombian coast. I travelled to Abidjan last week and from there to the former capital of the […]
Jonathan Cooper - 1st March 2019
In my last post, I argued that the judgment in Gareth Lee v Ashers Bakery is the consequence of the failure to follow a structured human rights assessment. This is why. Gareth Lee is gay and lives in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland denies gay men and lesbians the right to marry. Gareth went to a […]
Jonathan Cooper - 1st March 2019
What if? What if the UK House of Lords (as the UK Supreme Court then was) had left the judgment of Lord Justice Brooke in Begum in the Court of Appeal intact? Brooke LJ in that case held that the school uniform policy of Denbigh High School was unlawful under the Human Rights Act because, […]