‘Inhumane, Violates Right To Dignity’, Kenya Court Declares Mandatory Life Imprisonment Unconstitutional

The Kenya Court of Appeal has declared the imposition of mandatory life imprisonment as unconstitutional, while hearing a rape case committed on a four-year-old girl in 2013. Partially allowing the appeal, it modified the life imprisonment sentence to imprisonment of 40 years for the convict.Article 27 of the Constitution of Kenya ensures fundamental right to equality before the law and...

Thumbs Up Emoji (👍) Amounts To Acceptance, Binds Parties Under A Legal Contract: Canada Court

The King's Bench of Saskatchewan in Canada has held that sending a thumbs up emoji in response to a contract will amount to acceptance and bind the parties under a legal contract. The Canadian Court awarded $82,200.21 to the crop seller for breach of contract as he had failed to deliver the crop to the seller after responding to the contract on message with a thumbs up emoji.Rejecting...

UN Human Rights Council Appoints Advocate Vrinda Grover As Member Of Ukraine Commission Of Inquiry

Advocate Vrinda Grover has been appointed as a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine by the President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ambassador Václav Bálek (Czechia)."A practicing advocate in India, Grover has more than 34 years of experience in constitutional law, criminal law and human rights. She has appeared as counsel in landmark...

Indus Water Treaty: Hague Court of Arbitration Says It Is Competent To Decide Proceedings Initiated By Pakistan; India Rejects Ruling

Rejecting India's objections, the Permanent Court Of Arbitration at The Hague has ruled that it is competent to decide the proceedings instituted by Pakistan in relation to the Indus Water Treaty in 2016. Pakistan had approached the court over the design and operation of run-of-river hydro-electric plants on the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab rivers and their tributaries. India had said the Court...

Uganda Enacts Anti-Homosexuality Act Prescribing Death Penalty For ‘Aggravated Homosexuality’

The President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni has assented to the stringent Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023. The law was initially passed by Parliament on March 22, 2023, having been introduced as a Private Member Bill. Though the Bill received unanimous legislative support, it was returned to the Parliament by the President on April 27, 2023 suggesting some changes. The House reconsidered the Bill...

Israel’s Judicial Reform Bill: A Threat To Judicial Independence & Democracy?

On February 20, 2023, two bills that aim to "overhaul Israel's judiciary" were approved by a vote of 63 to 47 in the 120-member Parliament of Israel, just barely after midnight. In the middle of continuous demonstrations in which tens of thousands of Israelis assembled on the streets and blocked highways heading towards the capital city of Jerusalem, the far-right government coalition's planned bills were approved in the first of three readings, while at the parliament, members of the ...

Sedition Law Intended To Wreak Revenge On A Political Dissenter; Loyalty To State & Govt Must Be Distinguished: Lahore High Court

Finding SEDITION LAW to be in significant tension with constitutionalism and constitutional democracy, Pakistan's Lahore High Court last week invalidated Section 124A of the Pakistan Penal Code which pertains to the crime of sedition or inciting “disaffection” against the government. While holding so, Justice Shahid Karim underscored that Loyalty to the state has to be distinguished...

Supreme Court Of Pakistan Declares Election Commission’s Decision To Delay Punjab Polls Unconstitutional

Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday declared Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)'s decision to delay the election in Punjab as unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio, of no legal effect and consequently quashed the decision.The bench of Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar said, “Neither the Constitution nor...

Lahore High Court Strikes Down Country's Sedition Law [Section 124A Of Pakistan Penal Code]

The Lahore High Court today invalidated Section 124A of the Pakistan Penal Code [Sedition law] calling it inconsistent with the Country's Consitution, reported Pakistan Daily DawnJustice Shahid Karim of the High Court invalidated Sedition Law while dealing with a batch of petitions seeking to annul Section 124A of the PPC on the ground that the law was being by the Governments in powers...

US Federal Court Allows Sikh Recruits to Wear Unshorn Hair and Beards in Marine Corps' Boot Camp

A U.S. court has ordered the Marine Corps to allow Sikh recruits with unshorn hair and beards to begin basic training.

Shireen Abu Aqla: Al Jazeera Files Case At ICC Over Journalist's Killing

Al Jazeera television network has filed a formal request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli forces over the killing of veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Abu Akleh, a television correspondent with Al Jazeera for 25 years, was shot in the head during an Israeli raid in a refugee camp on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Jenin back in May. She was wearing...

Banning Conditional Sentences For Certain Offences Is Constitutional: Canada Supreme Court Holds In 5:4 Majority

The Canada Supreme Court, on Friday, held that banning 'conditional sentences' for serious offences is constitutional. Handing down the judgment in 5:4 majority, the Court held, "While the crisis of Indigenous incarceration is undeniable, Ms. Sharma did not demonstrate that the impugned provisions created or contributed to a disproportionate impact on Indigenous offenders, relative...