Foreign/International
State Constitution Does Not Provide A Fundamental Right To Abortion: lowa Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of Iowa (in the United States of America) has held that the State Constitution is not a source to claim abortion as a fundamental right. In holding so, it has overruled its own decision rendered four years back in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Reynolds (PPH II) (2018) ('PPH II'), wherein it was ruled that right to abortion is a fundamental right...
Explained : Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard -How US Jury Answered Defamation Claims Against Each Other?
A US Jury has delivered its verdict in the high profile defamation case between Hollywood actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, after a highly dramatic trial spread over six weeks, the live-stream of which caused a sensation in the internet.A 7-member jury constituted by the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia, unanimously ruled that a 2018 article published by Heard imputing...
US Jury Holds Johnny Depp & Amber Heard Liable For Defamation Of Each Other; Awards $15 Million Damages To Depp, $2 Million To Heard
Hollywood Actor Johnny Depp won his defamation case against Amber Heard, his ex-wife and former costar, reported Associated Press. Following a six-week trial, a US jury found that Heard had defamed Depp in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post, describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million...
Life Imprisonment Without Realistic Possibility Of Parole Unconstitutional: Canada Supreme Court
The Canada Supreme Court held that a criminal law provision authorizing sentence of imprisonment for life without a realistic possibility of parole is unconstitutional."By stipulating that a court may impose consecutive 25-year parole ineligibility periods, the impugned provision authorizes the infliction of a degrading punishment that is incompatible with human dignity", the Court...
Is The Green Hydrogen Policy A Viable First Step Towards Power/Energy Security?
India signed the Paris agreement (COP21, 2016), according to which, by the year 2030, India is committed to reducing its greenhouse emissions by 33-35% from the 2005 levels. On Independence Day 2021, PM Modi announced the National Hydrogen Mission. In COP-26 summit (Glasgow, October-November 2021), India pledged to be carbon neutral by 2070. In furtherance of that, the Government of...
Abortion Laws In The US And Other Countries
Early this week, an initial draft majority opinion by conservative justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court was published by Politico. The leaked document stated, Roe v Wade "must be overruled". The leaked document, drafted by Justice Alito touches various topics concerning the constitutionally protected right of abortion granted by Roe v Wade and the subsequent...
Leaked Draft Judgment Of US Supreme Court Indicates Overruling Of Roe v.Wade Abortion Rights Decision
The US Supreme Court is likely to overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that has guaranteed the right to abortion for nearly a half-century according to a leaked draft opinion published online on Monday night by Politico.The leaked draft judgment of Justice Samuel Alito was reported by news portal Politico. According to the report, the draft was circulated among judges on February 10 and...
The Indian Connection With Pak Decision To Live-Stream Court Proceedings
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) in Pakistan has decided to live-stream its proceedings for the first time in the country's history. Notably, this significant development has a slight connection with Mumbai, an Indian city located 1,643 kilometres away. Barrister Ummar Ziauddin, who had petitioned the IHC for live streaming, has never visited Mumbai, but he has been exchanging...
Russian Suspension At The Human Rights Council: Band-Aid On A Bullet Wound?
In witness to the killing of civilians in Bucha (Ukraine), the UN General Assembly on Thursday suspended the membership of the Russian Federation from the Human Rights Council (HRC). This resolution stemmed from a proposal moved by the US calling for the resumption of the emergency special session on Ukraine. Passed by a two-thirds majority of those present & voting, 24 states...
The Online War Between Ukraine And Russia
Cyber weapons are a low cost but an effective tool for modern day operations. Since the growth of information and communication technologies in the late 1990s-early 2000s, they have been used in several situations. In 2007, Russia used low tech cyber weapons against Estonia for wanting to shift a soldier memorial outskirts of Estonia Since 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, there...
Understanding 'Use Of Force', In Context Of Ukraine-Russia
In its public hearing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently indicated that Russia must immediately halt the military operations against Ukraine while expressing profound concern, about Moscow's use of force in violation of international law. The judges voted 13-2 in favour of this. Previously, when the ICJ had updated its website, to include the submission it received from...
In The Name Of TRIPS Waiver
In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal to the TRIPS Council, WTO, to waive certain obligations under the TRIPS Agreement. The adoption of this waiver would lead to temporarily suspend certain obligations to protect intellectual property (IP) and its enforcement as mandated by the TRIPS Agreement. This waiver was seen as a need of the hour to overcome the IP barriers...