Amidst the pandemonium arisen due to the notoriety of the COVID–19 virus, we cannot afford to be lost on the significance of how there continue to be deep-rooted pernicious influences that plague the lesser privileged strata of Indian and Nepalese societies. “Witch hunting” is one of such numerous influences and has persisted through the centuries, [...]
The image of Derek Chauvin’s knee on George Floyd’s neck as the dying man cried, “I can’t breathe,” is now etched in the consciousness of an entire generation. The repugnant violence committed by Chauvin and the other complicit officers – and by too many police before them – breeds severe community distrust of law enforcement [...]
In the wake of the latest killings of minority citizens by police there are passionate calls to defund the police or to abolish police altogether. As to abolition, it’s worth remembering that this country made do without organized police forces for nearly its first century of existence, but that approach proved inadequate as society became [...]
On May 22, 2020 Bombay High Court said that the Right to a Decent Burial is a facet of the Right to Life. This decision was based on a plea which contested burial of COVID-19 patients in burial grounds surrounding the residential areas. The court dismissed the petitions and quoted from Oscar Wilde: “Death must [...]
In a dark demonstration of Orwellian precepts, Hungary’s Parliament has passed a bill to end legal recognition for transgender citizens. The Bill received the legislative acquiescence on 19th May 2020. The legislature has cogently replaced the Hungarian word ‘nem’ which can mean both sex or gender with the term ‘születési nem’ which refers to sex [...]
On May 29, 2020, the Ninth Circuit continued the trend of courts more closely scrutinizing the plaintiff’s compliance with registration formalities in copyright infringement lawsuits. Registration formalities have received more attention since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com, LLC. There, the Supreme Court resolved a split in the Circuit [...]
Over the past year, and increasingly in the last few months, the people of Hong Kong have taken to the streets as China has been on a spree of introducing draconian laws, targeting individual civil liberties and constantly threatening Hong Kong’s autonomy, with a new security law being the latest addition. China seeks to bypass [...]
In a historic development concerning women’s rights, the Sudanese transitional government recently criminalized the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) and made it punishable by up to three years in prison. FGM is a deeply discriminatory practice which results in the partial or total removal of external female genitalia without any medical reasons. It violates [...]
Two years after the Navtej Singh Johar judgment which decriminalized homosexuality in India, the death of Anjana Hareesh, also known as Chinnu Zulfikar, shook the whole LGBTQIA+ community, earlier this May. Claimed to have committed suicide, Anjana identified herself as bisexual and was forced by her family members to undergo “conversion therapy” without her consent [...]
On Monday, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia filed his response to the petition for mandamus brought by General Michael Flynn in the D.C. Circuit regarding Sullivan’s handling of the Justice Department (DOJ) Motion to Dismiss the false statement charges against Flynn. Flynn had pleaded guilty to [...]