Trump accepted millions from foreign states during presidency, US lawmakers say
During his presidency, Donald Trump accepted millions of dollars from foreign states including China, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a report released Thursday by Democratic lawmakers. Through entities he owned or controlled, the report alleges, Trump accepted at least $7.8 million from at least 20 countries spanning the globe during [...]
Australia implements new anti-exploitation policy for victims of forced marriage
The Australian government announced Sunday that victims of forced marriages in Australia will have access to a support policy providing needs-based prevention and early intervention as part of a push to end modern-day slavery. Victims or those at risk of being forced into marriage can now receive access to 200 days of holistic support through [...]
Kenya’s High Court declared on Tuesday that a 1.5 percent levy, introduced in an earlier bill to fund affordable housing, violated constitutional principles. The levy was a provision of the Finance Act 2023, which faced legal challenges earlier this summer amidst mass demonstrations against the cost of living crisis in Kenya. The housing levy was [...]
UN moves to draft new convention on international tax cooperation
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday adopted a resolution to move forward with a proposal for a UN tax convention to promote international tax cooperation. The resolution, tabled by the Africa Group, was adopted with 125 member states voting for the resolution, 48 voting against and 9 abstaining. The resolution provides for an intergovernmental [...]
Australian war crimes whistleblower David McBride pleaded guilty on Friday to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing military information. In a statement outside the courtroom, McBride’s lawyer Kieran Pender, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre said: There is no public interest in prosecuting whistleblowers, and certainly no public interest in sending them [...]
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka declared Tuesday that several former politicians, including former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, breached the public trust and violated Article 12 (1) of the Sri Lankan Constitution in their management of the economy. The bench ruled by a majority of [...]
Senate committee reports Justice Clarence Thomas did not pay back $200,000 loan for RV
The Senate Finance Committee reported Wednesday that US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas did not repay a more than $200,000 loan for a vehicle purchase from 1999. Specifically, the committee’s memo stated the loan was $267,230 from Tony Welters, a friend of Thomas. The committee interviewed Welters and received a written note from 1999 by [...]
After an end-of-summer visit to Ecuador, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Olivier De Schutter called on authorities to continue efforts to curb drug-related crime in the country and to increase investment in the education, healthcare, and social protection sectors. In his report, De Schutter cited poverty as the root cause of [...]
Edwin Gakunga is a student at the Kenya School of Law and a JURIST Assistant Editor. He files this dispatch from Nairobi. The bustling heart of Nairobi, Kenya, was the stage last week of a historic event—the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS), held from September 4th to 6th. This pivotal gathering brought together African nations, [...]
Sweden oil executives face landmark trial over alleged Sudan war crimes
Executives of Lundin Oil (now Orrön Energy) Ian Lundin and Alex Schneiter’s criminal trial for alleged war crimes in Sudan began on Tuesday. Schneiter and Lundin are charged with “complicity in grave war crimes.” In November 2021, Swedish prosecutors indicted Lundin and Schneiter for Lundin Oil’s operations in Sudan from 1999 to 2003. Lundin Energy [...]
