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The Unconstitutionality of the “Publication of Notice of Intended Marriage” clause under the Indian Special Marriage Act

Ayush Mishra - 14th September 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Freedom of Expression| Relationship Rights| Right to Privacy

The Special Marriage Act was enacted in 1954 to allow citizens of India to solemnize inter-faith and inter-caste marriages without the need to renounce their religion. The Supreme Court of India, however, has recently accepted a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 6 of the act that mandates the Marriage Officer to publish the notice […]

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Ensuring the lawfulness of automated facial recognition surveillance in the UK

Martin Kwan - 3rd September 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Right to Privacy

In R(Bridges) v South Wales Police, the England and Wales Court of Appeal reviewed the lawfulness of the use of live automated facial recognition technology (‘AFR’) by the South Wales Police Force. CCTV camera­­s capture images of the public, which are then compared with digital images of persons on a watchlist. The use of AFR […]

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One step closer to gender justice: Equal inheritance rights to Hindu daughters

Parkhi Saxena - 1st September 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Equality

The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark order delivered on 11 August, 2020, cleared all legal cobwebs surrounding equal division of a Hindu ancestral property. Through this judgement, the Court declared that daughters will have inheritance rights equal to that of a son on ancestral properties. Before this, the daughters did not have equal […]

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Closing the Gap in Indigenous Australian Disadvantage Policy: A Human Rights Response

Dominic O'Sullivan - 15th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Indigenous Rights

In 2008 the Council of Australian Governments decided to ‘close the gap in indigenous disadvantage’. It identified 6 targets in the fields of health, education and employment where policy could ‘close’ gaps between Indigenous and other citizens. By 2020, some progress had been made on each target, but only two were ‘on track’ to be […]

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Separated, Locked Down, and Unequal: The Grey Hair Revolution’s resistance to draconian quarantine in Colombia

Esteban Hoyos-Ceballos Rodrigo Uprimny-Yepes - 14th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

In July 2020, Colombian Administrative Judge Edith Alarcón-Bernal announced her decision to protect the rights to equality and non-discrimination of Colombians over 70 years old. The decision followed a tutela litigation brought by the so-called “Grey Hair Revolution” movement, which challenged the Colombian government’s decision to impose a stricter quarantine on people over 70, and […]

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The Patriarchal Justice System of Bangladesh Fails Laws Preventing Dowry Violence

Adity Rahman Shah - 12th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

Being a party to the CEDAW, Bangladesh promises to promote women`s equality in every sphere. But the discriminative approaches to Dowry crime prevention framework in Bangladesh brought by the existing patriarchal justice system is violating women`s right to equality before law under the national and international human rights standards. In Bangladesh, section 2 (j) of […]

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OxHRH

Bad blood? Belgian Constitutional Court rules on gay and bisexual blood ban

- 4th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

In  September 2019, the Belgian Constitutional Court (‘BCC’) reviewed the constitutionality of a law setting up a 12-month blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men (MSM). Like other European countries, Belgium converted a permanent ban on gay and bisexual male blood donors to the requirement of a temporary deferral period. This […]

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COVID-19 and the Digital Divide in Indian Island-territories

Sindhu A - 28th July 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Media Privacy and Communications

The lack of access to high speed internet within Indian island territories is a violation of digital equality, and a host of connected rights. This has been further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘Digital India’ programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015. It promised, among other things, nation-wide access to high […]

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Suing for Caste Discrimination in the US under the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Nimit Rajesh Goyal - 28th July 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

On 30 June 2020, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (‘CDFEH’) filed a suit against Cisco before a United States District Court on grounds, inter alia, of engaging in unlawful employment practices as per the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (‘CRA’). What distinguishes this lawsuit from others […]

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OxHRH

Discriminatory Torture of an LGBTI Person: Landmark Precedent Set by the Inter-American Court

Misha Nayak-Oliver - 14th July 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Earlier this year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued a landmark judgment Azul Rojas Marín and Another v. Peru (Azul), in which Peru was found responsible for the torture and rape of an LGBTI person by police agents. The Court’s decision has a significant impact on the protection of the LGBTI community against […]

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OxHRH

Legal Capacity, Disability and Human Rights: Changes and Challenges

Nicolás Espejo-Yaksic - 9th July 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 12 the equal right to exercise legal capacity without discrimination and imposes on States parties a duty to adopt appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require to exercise this legal capacity. In the words […]

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OxHRH

Municipal Pride?

Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler - 30th June 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination

Tel Aviv’s mayor, Ron Huldai, announced on 21 June 2020 that the city will revise its digital registers, enabling same-sex couples to register their relationship. They would then be eligible for housing allowances and registration would ease enrolment of their children in publicly funded day-cares and schools. Opposite-sex couples who either cannot get married in […]

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