Santhara: Jains’ Right to Exit with Dignity
The Jain religion of India has been embroiled in legal controversy surrounding the practice of Santhara or Sallekhana. The Jains, a religious minority in the country, believe in the immortality...
Right to Life
Euthanasia Case in South Africa: Does the Right to Life Include the Right to Die with Dignity?
On the 5th May 2015, the Pretoria High Court delivered a judgment in Stransham-Ford v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others that marks a significant step towards the...
Blasphemy Laws and Human Rights in Pakistan
Notorious blasphemy laws have a significant impact on minority communities in Pakistan. Particularly their right to life, freedom of speech and freedom of religion as enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution and...
Implementation of Carter will be the Ultimate Gauge of Success of the Decision
In a unanimous judgment released on February 6, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada became the ninth jurisdiction in the world to recognize some form of assisted death. The federal...
Supreme Court of Canada Strikes Down Ban on Physician Assisted Death
In a landmark decision, on February 6, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously struck down the criminal prohibition against physician assisted death (PAD) in Carter v Canada. The Court...
Capital Punishment in China: Room for Cautious Optimism?
Recent weeks have seen the resumption of executions in Jordan, after an 8-year de facto moratorium, and in Pakistan, following the murderous terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar, along...
Right to Housing Debate Stalled by Canadian Court
By a 2-1 majority, a provincial appellate court has halted proceedings in Tanudjaja v Canada (Attorney-General) which sought to recognise a constitutional obligation on provincial and federal governments to provide...
A New Opportunity for the UN to Move Forward the Global Abolition of Death Penalty
On the 2014 world day against the death penalty, Ban Ki Moon made a strong statement calling for global abolition. This declaration reflects a growing trend toward abolition, and yet...
Canadian Constitutional Challenge to Prohibition on Assisted-Dying
Canada’s top court is once again set to decide on the constitutionality of physician-assisted dying for terminally ill patients. Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada heard oral arguments in...
Migrant ‘Push Backs’ at Sea are Prohibited ‘Collective Expulsions’
In the early hours of 20 January 2014, a boat coming from Turkey carrying twenty-seven Afghan and Syrian migrants was intercepted by the Greek coast guard near the isle...
Should There Be A Human Rights Approach for Environmental Protection?
Is climate change just an environmental issue or also a human rights issue? Do we need a new international environmental treaty to address the rights of people displaced from their...
McCaughey and Others v UK: The Requirement of Prompt Investigation into State Killings
Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees, subject to some exceptions, that “everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law.” In its substantive manifestation, this means...
Become A Contributor To The Blog
