Reopening Finality: Capital Punishment on Trial (Again)
Capital punishment has been the subject of considerable judicial discourse in India, a significant part of which has focused on isolating the right to life from sweeping judicial discretion in...
Judicial Activism in Protecting the Right to Equality in Bangladesh: Reflections on High Court Division’s verdict on Redefining Parental Identity in Student Information Forms
The case of BLAST and others vs. Bangladesh and others (Writ Petition No. 5343 0f 2009) challenged the mandatory requirement for students to provide their father’s name in examination registration...
When Bulldozer Justice Breeds Injustice: Indian Supreme Court Curtails Arbitrary Demolitions
On 13 November 2024, the apex court of India delivered a landmark judgment in In Re: Directions in the matter of demolition of structures addressing the important injustice being caused...
A Critical Analysis of the Indian Supreme Court’s Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage
On October 17, 2024, the Supreme Court’s five-judge Constitution Bench ruled that same-sex couples do not have an unconditional right to marry, stating it is a matter for Parliament, and...
Can’t Fathers Feed their Babies? Critiquing the Indian Supreme Court’s order on gendered infant-care in public
In February 2025, the Supreme Court of India passed a landmark order in Maatr Sparsh, An Initiative by Avyaan Foundation v. Union of India, acknowledging the intertwined legal rights of...
Commercial or Altruistic Surrogacy: The Indian Supreme Court Finds Middle Ground
Governance of surrogacy in India has been multi-faceted. Whereas commercial surrogacy was previously allowed, the current legislation is focused on altruistic surrogacy. The Surrogacy Regulation Act 2021 as defines ‘altruistic...
Human Nature: Understanding the Constitutional and Indigenous Context of Granting Legal Personhood to Taranaki Mounga
Last week Taranaki Mounga (mountain) joined a growing family of natural entities given legal personhood in Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Urewera was the first natural entity in the world to...
‘The Private is Political’: Horizontality of Fundamental Rights as an Antidote for Trans Discrimination in India
The Indian Supreme Court’s issuance of notice on January 2, 2024, in response to a petition by a transwoman dismissed from two private schools due to her gender identity underscores...
Advancing Environmental Justice: The Supreme Court of Kenya holds State Agencies Accountable for Environmental Harm in Owino-Uhuru case
On 6th December 2024, the Supreme Court of Kenya affirmed the constitutional rights to a Clean and Healthy Environment and the highest Sustainable Standard of Health Care and Sanitation as...
Two Roads Diverged Within Disability Jurisprudence In India, The Supreme Court Took The One Less Travelled By
While ‘disability’ has not been mentioned as a ground of discrimination in the Indian Constitution, the promulgation of the Right of Persons with Disabilities, 2016 has assisted in preventing disability...
Decisional Autonomy: Unrealised Right under India’s Abortion Law?
Legislative discussions surrounding the 2020 Amendment Bill to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (‘Act’) stated that it is an effort in ensuring autonomy for women who desire to...
Continuing to ‘Tinker with the Machinery of Death’? Taiwan Constitutional Court’s Death Penalty Judgment
On 20 September 2024, the Taiwan Constitutional Court delivered its Judgment 113 Hsien-Pan-8 (English translation not currently available), upholding the death penalty, but with significant caveats. The case concerned 33...
