Constitutional Court of South Africa: Blunting the Impact of Electoral Law on Freedom of Expression
The Constitutional Court of South Africa has undertaken a robust defence of freedom of expression at the time of an election following litigation between the governing party and the official...
The Legality of Mass Surveillance Operations
A court which isn’t a court in name rules on the legality of a government mass surveillance program that may or may not exist. That about sums up the Kafkaesque...
Reporting Restrictions in Criminal Cases Involving Juveniles
On 3 November 2014 Will Cornick was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for the murder of his teacher Ann Maguire, after stabbing her in front of her...
'GamerGate' and Gendered Hate Speech
What is ‘GamerGate’? Some say it is a movement demanding higher ethics in journalism, but this post will argue that it is yet another instance of sexism and hate speech...
A Human Rights Defence of Hong Kong's Occupy Central
With the Hong Kong Government set on introducing an undemocratic electoral reform in the coming months, Professor Benny Tai has proposed to organise a peaceful assembly, ‘Occupy Central with Love...
Vergara Ruling Poses Problems for Separation of Powers and Academic Freedom
On June 10th, handing down judgment in Vergara v. California, the California Supreme Court struck down three statutes providing tenure for primary and secondary teachers and extra job security for...
Contributions Caps and the First Amendment
On April 2nd, the United States Supreme Court struck down aggregate campaign contribution limits in federal elections in their ruling on McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. For an overview of...
McCutcheon v FEC: The Harvest of Pernicious Seeds
The US Supreme Court very recently handed down its decision in McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission, undoubtedly the most important campaign finance ruling since its controversial 2010 judgment in Citizens...
The Criminalization of Protests: Repression and Human Rights Abuses in Venezuela
In Venezuela, anti-government protests are being brutally repressed; many demonstrators have been jailed, with some believed to have been tortured. On February 12, 2014, university students opposed to the current...
The Not-so-paramount Right to Vote
Last week, the Election Commission of India announced the time frame for the general elections to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha (“House of the People”) of the Parliament of India....
Managing Secrecy: R (Miranda) v SSHD
Much has already been written about the implications of R (Miranda) v Secretary of State for the Home Department for Schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2007. However, leaving that to one...
Prosecuting in the Public Interest: CPS Guidelines from Assisted Suicide to Social Media
Although the DPP’s consent is required before a prosecution for assisted suicide can be brought, the discretion whether to prosecute or not exists in all cases. In this post, drawn...
