Last year, the landmark US Supreme Court decision of Kiobel held that the presumption against extraterritorial application of US law applies to the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) (see previous OxHRH...
Federal Judge Strikes Down California Death Penalty as Unconstitutional
In a stunning – and possibly prescient – decision, United States District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District of California struck down the state of California’s death...
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...
Burwell v Hobby Lobby – a narrow decision?
This week the Supreme Court of the United States delivered judgment in the eagerly anticipated case of Burwell v Hobby Lobby, involving a challenge to a provision of the Patient...
“British Schindler” and a History of Neglect of Refugee Children
Sir Nicholas Winton celebrated his 105th birthday at the Czech embassy in London this past May. Guests included members of the Winton family, friends, and members of his other family,...
Executing the Intellectually Disabled: a Stronger Prohibition
On 21 February 1978, Freddie Hall and his accomplice, kidnapped, raped and murdered a young woman, and in a separate incident, killed a sheriff’s deputy. Hall’s siblings, teachers, and the...
What next for LGBT equality?
It has been almost a year since the Supreme Court of the United States delivered judgment in Windsor v United States and in the intervening twelve months there have been...
Schuette v BAMN: a Need to Rethink Equal Protection
Editor’s note: this post follows on from Christina Lee’s analysis of the decision in Schuette v Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action. While allowing Michigan to ban affirmative action, the Schuette...
Schuette: The Latest in the Affirmative Action Saga
On April 22, 2014, in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the Supreme Court of the United States held that Michigan’s amendment to the State constitution, prohibiting the use...
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...
The Business of Traffic in Humans
Human trafficking is a complex phenomenon touching upon different legal and policy frameworks. Being first and foremost a very serious crime, its relationship with human rights law is not as...
¿“Derecho” a ignorar el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos?
El 9 de abril, un ciudadano mexicano, Ramiro Hernández-Llanas, fue ejecutado mediante la pena de muerte en Texas. Fue procesado y declarado culpable por distintos delitos, incluyendo el asesinato de...