With the recent resurgence of discussions surrounding digital identification in Kenya, it is time to take a closer look at the potential benefits and associated risks. In October 2021, the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) introduced in January 2019 and popular as ‘Huduma Namba’, was declared illegal by the High Court for conflicting with [...]
In 2012, I authored a book called “Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is not a Court, and its Justices are not Judges.” The thesis of the book was that, due to a perfect storm of factors, the Supreme Court in practice makes all-things-considered decisions, not legal decisions, with the only real constraint on the [...]
The world continues to grapple with the challenges posed by strongman leaders who prioritize their own power and interests over global stability and cooperation. This essay explores the notion that the age of the strongman remains as threatening as ever. However, it argues that countering this threat requires upholding the rule of law rather than [...]
Scarcely three years after the largest protests against racism in U.S. history, a majority of the Supreme Court this week is expected to declare acts of racial consciousness in college admissions unlawful. At oral argument for the two cases, six justices were openly dismissive of the notion that more than three centuries of de jure [...]
Today the United States celebrates Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. Juneteenth is the anniversary of the day in 1865 on which Union Major General Gordon Granger informed 200,000 enslaved people in Texas that they were free by executive decree. Juneteenth was a day of joy and celebration, and we [...]
Following global practice — including that of the U.S. military justice system — the Pakistan Army Act builds on maintaining good order and discipline among service members, as no military can effectively function without strict discipline. The court-martial, that is, trial by military officers of breaches of service-connected discipline, including crimes, sits at the heart [...]
The past few years have seen a proliferation of online misinformation, accompanied by the growth of the fact-checking industry. This industry has evolved into a matured sector with its own funding sources and investments from major companies, which may have their own agendas. These companies are actively seeking to influence and control the industry, highlighting [...]
Vladimir Putin’s multiple crimes against Ukraine include aggression and genocide. But what happens when these two categories of criminality come together? Among other things, this result is not “merely” additive; it is also synergistic. Hence, the cumulative Russian wrongdoing is actually greater than the calculable sum of its component “parts.” What pertinent connections ought to [...]
Continued attacks on civilians and civilian objects by the armed forces of the Russian Federation violate international law and basic human decency. Over the past centuries, mankind has attempted to govern conduct on the battlefield in the hope that those found on the battlefield, such as the wounded and sick, prisoners of war, and civilians, [...]
June 4 marks the centennial of Meyer v. Nebraska, in which the US Supreme Court commenced its modern role as the guardian of non-economic personal liberties by striking down laws in Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio that prohibited the teaching of German to elementary school children. Meyer itself remains a vital cornerstone for the protection of [...]
