Search Results for: proportionality

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal unanimously ruled Tuesday that seven activists’ “systemic proportionality challenge” to the constitutionality of Section 17A(3) of the Public Order Ordinance is not reasonably arguable. While the court refused to grant leave to the activists on their systemic proportionality challenge, the court accepted their “operational proportionality challenge” and scheduled [...]

The UN Human Rights Committee announced Thursday that it received a record-high number of individual complaints in 2023, with many raising issues of freedom of expression and the press, as well as concerns over the treatment of opposition leaders during elections. According to the announcement, there are currently 1,321 individual complaints under investigation by the [...]

The recent Australian High Court ruling in NZYQ v. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs has prompted significant developments in Australia’s immigration detention policies. This commentary examines the legal implications of the ruling, the subsequent legislative response, and the ongoing concerns raised by human rights and refugee advocates. A History of Mandatory Detention for [...]

The European Commission opened formal proceedings against TikTok on Monday for potential breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a European regulation created to protect online services users. The European Commission opened the proceedings after it conducted preliminary investigations based on a risk assessment report delivered by TikTok in September 2023 in addition to the [...]

The India Supreme Court unanimously declared unconstitutional the electoral bonds scheme on Wednesday, which previously allowed for anonymous funding to political parties. The electoral bonds scheme was first instituted by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Union government in 2018. It allowed both individuals and corporations to anonymously fund political parties by purchasing electoral bonds from the [...]

A coalition of organizations issued an open letter on Wednesday to the Chair of the UN’s Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime, emphasizing “critical flaws” in the latest draft of the UN Cybercrime Convention—the so-called Zero Draft—and urging significant amendments. The coalition warned that without significant amendments, the convention could compromise global cyberspace security and human [...]

As the Gaza conflict stumbles forward, out of control, bloody, deadly, and seemingly endless, the Israeli Prime Minister vows “total victory” against Hamas as he steps over the bodies of thousands of Palestinians caught up in the violence. Total victory is an impossibility in this conflict. The days of total victory, of unconditional surrender, are [...]

The Chamber of Deputies of Argentina, which is the lower chamber of the country’s legislature, passed on Friday an omnibus bill titled “Bases and Starting Points for the Liberty of Argentines” that included a number of reforms and was proposed by libertarian President Javier Milei. The bill passed with a majority vote of 144 in [...]

The current conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine raises significant issues of international law and policy. This is part one in an anticipated two-part series that will discuss some of the relevant legal questions before the International Criminal Court (ICC; Part I) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ; Part II).  With both courts located in [...]

The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal overturned on Thursday the acquittal of pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung in reinstating her conviction of inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly under Section 17A(3)(a) of the Public Order Ordinance and the common law. Chow was previously sentenced to 15 months prison on January 4, 2022 over [...]