The Supreme Court of India on 11th October 2017 ruled that sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his minor wife would amount to rape for the purposes...
‘12 year a non-compliance’: redress at last?
Last week, the UK government announced its intention to change the Prison Service Guidance so as to allow prisoners towards the end of their (less than one year) imprisonment sentence...
Tunisia’s Revolutionary Steps: New Law Protecting Women Against Violence
July 26th 2017 marked a historic date in Tunisian history, with the passing of a national law against domestic violence, targeting “any physical, moral, sexual or economic aggression” against women....
The World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
July 30th marked the UN’s fourth annual World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which seeks to increase awareness of human trafficking as a serious crime and human rights violation. Traffickers...
Extra-territorial arrests by States: Did the Namibian Supreme Court get it wrong?
The decision of Likanyi v The State, which was recently handed down by the Namibian Supreme Court, raises pertinent issues relating to the understanding and application of the principles of...
India’s Model Beggary Bill: Towards Rehabilitating the Beggars
The practice of beggary is rampant in India and currently, over 4 lakh (400,000) people are involved in it. Some practice beggary because of their religious beliefs while for some...
Preserving Evidence of ISIL Atrocities: The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism
On 21 December 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 71/248, establishing an ‘International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the...
Kenya Enacts Contempt of Court Act to Uphold the Right to a Fair Trial
For a long time, the law on contempt of court in Kenya was outdated and quite unsatisfactory. However, Kenya recently enacted the Contempt of Court Act, Act No 46 of...
Human Rights and Counterterrorism
Last week Theresa May argued that human rights laws that impede effective counter-terrorism should be changed. Keir Starmer disagrees, arguing that human rights and effective counterterrorism are complementary. Who is...
Death Sentences in the Delhi Gang Rape Case: Brutality as Trumps
On 16th December 2012, a particularly disturbing case of gangrape and murder in New Delhi (‘the Delhi gangrape case’) set off massive nationwide protests. Widespread discussions on sexual violence in...
Serbia’s New Domestic Violence Law and the Istanbul Convention: Potential and Challenges
At the time where the old Russian proverb “If he beats you, it means he loves you’’ seems to have taken roots among the legislators in the Russian Parliament, Serbia...
Taking Some Human Rights Back: The Case of Ildar Dadin
Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees a right of peaceful assembly, has recently clashed with the Russian Criminal Code which, as of 2014, has criminalised repeated participation in...