The Dangerous Path of Mexico’s Judicial Reform: What is at Stake for Judicial Independence in the Americas
Recently, Mexico’s President proposed a series of initiatives to reform the judiciary. This blog focuses on two of its elements: (1) replacing all judges with new ones elected by popular...
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)...
Responsabilidad Corporativa por Violaciones de Derechos Humanos Internacionales en las Cortes de los Estados Unidos: El Litigio de Chiquita Marcas
El 10 de junio de 2024, el innovador juicio federal estadounidense, Chiquita Marcas Internacional, Inc., Litigio por el Estatuto de Agravio para Extranjeros y Litigio Derivativo de Accionistas, declaró a...
Corporate Accountability for International Human Rights Violations in US Courts: The Chiquita Brands Litigation
On 10 June 2024, the groundbreaking US federal trial, Chiquita Brands International, Inc., Alien Tort Statute and Shareholders Derivative Litigation, found the banana corporation guilty of the deaths of eight...
Indirect Criminalisation of Homelessness: Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson
Homelessness continues to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in the US and across the world. However, there is a discernible change in judicial opinion in the US...
The US Supreme Court’s ‘Grants Pass’ Decision: A Reflection of Broader Problems with Affordable Housing
The decision of the US Supreme Court (‘the Court’) in City of Grants Pass v Johnson allows cities to impose criminal penalties on homeless people for sleeping in public areas,...
In Search of Lost Climes: the Historic Litigation in Navahine v Hawai‘i
In what has been described as a ‘world first’ in constitutional climate litigation, youth plaintiffs from Hawai‘i have secured a historic Settlement Agreement that underscores both the realities of climate...
US Supreme Court Upholds Law that Disarms Domestic Abusers, But Future Challenges Await
With a significant majority, but in a narrowly written opinion, the US Supreme Court held on Friday, 21st June 2024, that the Second Amendment of the Constitution does not prohibit...
Proportionality in theory, not practice: Internet Rights in Indian Courts
Although Indian Courts have adopted a structured five-prong proportionality test in cases such as Modern Dental College [2016] and KS Puttaswamy [2017] to determine the validity of the State’s restriction...
Blazing The Trail: Kenya’s Supreme Court Rejects the Regional Court’s Merit Review of its Judgments
On 31 May 2024, Kenya’s Supreme Court (‘the Court’) delivered the Advisory Opinion in AG v Karua, Reference E001 of 2022 (‘the reference’), which rejected the intrusive approach of the...
India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016: An Unfulfilled Promise
India’s enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 was a pivotal step towards aligning its legal framework with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons...
Supreme Federal Court of Brazil Resumes Discussions on Decriminalisation of Personal Use of Cannabis
In 2006, Brazil implemented a new drug law which continued to criminalise various activities related to illegal drugs, such as buying, possessing, transporting, or cultivating them for personal use. However,...