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...
Upholding the Dignity of Prisoners: The Indian Supreme Court’s Stand Against Caste-based Discrimination in Prisons
On 3rd October 2024, the Supreme Court of India in Sukanya Shantha v. Union of India & Ors. addressed the issue of Caste-based discrimination in the Indian prisons. India has...
The Deafening Silence of Dissent: Abuse of Counter-Terror Laws in Indian-Administered Kashmir
On 5 August 2019, the Indian Parliament unilaterally abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which provided a ‘unique status’ to the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir (“Kashmir”). The move...
When ‘National Interest’ leads to Ecocide: The Unseen Constitutional Violation of Environmental Laws in Bangladesh
In the largest delta in the world, Bangladesh, the environmental safeguarding mechanism consists of nearly 200 laws. Yet, the country has faced severe environmental degradation over the last few decades,...
Women in Constitutions – The Indian Constitution with Aparna Chandra
Oxford Human Rights Hub · Women in Constitutions – The Indian Constitution with Aparna Chandra Virtually all constitutions guarantee women’s right to equality, yet, there is a rise in backlash...
Is Regulating Disinformation at Odds with Free Speech? An Analysis of India’s Approach
In February 2022, I wrote on the need to penalise online disinformation or “fake news” on Indian social media to protect the freedom of thought of Indian citizens. While the...
Why the Court got it wrong on Minimum Sentencing on Sexual Offences: Republic v Joshua Gichuki Mwangi
On the 12th July 2024, the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCORK) rendered its decision on an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions which challenged the Court of Appeal (CoA)...
