“A republic, if you can keep it.” –Benjamin Franklin’s response to Elizabeth Willing Powel’s question: “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” The rule of law lies at the heart of any functioning democracy, serving as a cornerstone for justice, equality, and the very fabric of society itself. As the United [...]
The rule of law is the bedrock of international relations and human rights, ensuring that nations adhere to established norms to protect humanity during times of conflict. Within this framework, the laws of armed conflict delineate appropriate conduct in wartime through fundamental principles: military necessity, proportionality, unnecessary suffering, and discrimination. The foundational tenet of the [...]
Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine has led to widespread death and suffering. There are thousands of recorded instances of torture, inhumane treatment and sexual violence, as well as destruction of property, with vast swathes of residential areas and civilian infrastructure across the country destroyed by Russian artillery. The economic losses are immense, with the Register [...]
In the wake of a bitterly divisive election campaign, American citizens officially go to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. This is the seventh US election that JURIST has covered since 2000, when for 36 days this university-based legal news non-profit, then not even five years old, chronicled the highs and lows of the recount [...]
Voter anomalies are part of the election process, and rarely are elections problem-free. Retail anomalies are voting irregularities committed by individuals, such as duplicate voting, impersonation, voting in the name of dead people, or voting by felons and noncitizens. Election officials may also perpetrate retail anomalies by preventing individuals from voting. Retail anomalies in a [...]
As reported in a recent New York Times article, a group of doctors, nurses, and paramedics reported a cluster of what was claimed to be gunshot wounds to the heads of children in the crowded battle space of Gaza. No reasonable military mission scenario would allow such targeting. Though not explicitly stated, the piece strongly [...]
The US Supreme Court in some ways is a more prominent issue in this year’s election than it has been in most previous elections, although its influence on voters is uncertain. As in every presidential race for the past forty years, abortion is the focal point of discussions about how the election might affect the [...]
More than three years since the military takeover by Taliban in 2021, Afghanistan remains engulfed in a severe human rights crisis. Extrajudicial killings, public executions, flogging in stadiums, and other forms of corporal punishment, arbitrary detentions, torture and disappearances of former government officials, members of the national security forces, judges, lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, [...]
The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has illuminated the critical need for accountability on the international stage, particularly regarding violations of sovereignty and acts of aggressive warfare. President Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine not only pose a significant threat to global peace but also challenge the foundational principles of international law. Prosecuting Putin for the international [...]
Recent headlines brought a glimmer of hope to the women and girls whose lives under the Taliban have essentially been reduced to prison terms: Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands announced plans to bring the Taliban to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for gender discrimination. As an Afghan woman, I have been horrified to [...]
