In the following JURIST video commentary, Dr. Thamil Ananthavinayagan of the University of Nottingham (UK) discusses the July 20, 2022 parliamentary appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President of Sri Lanka. This is the latest development in a series of political upheavals in recent months that saw the ouster of Sri Lanka’s former president and prime [...]
“You seem to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy.” ― Thomas Jefferson A recent series of radically partisan judicial decisions by the United States Supreme Court heralds the first rollback of fundamental human rights [...]
This has been a difficult summer for rights activists around the globe. First, the Karnatka High Court upheld the Indian government’s ban on the hijab. Then a French administrative court decided to sustain the prohibition on burkinis. And finally, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This controversial decision has sparked debates across multiple [...]
What is Happening in Sri Lanka? The dynasty has fallen. After protesters stormed the presidential palace and the private residences of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakse and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former announced his resignation while the latter offered to follow suit. For some, the anger burgeoned as Sri Lanka‘s economy spiraled into a [...]
On February 24, 2022, Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Russian forces have attacked different parts of Ukraine using both ground troops as well as air strikes. So far, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have died as a result of Russian attacks. By so blatantly attacking Ukraine, another sovereign country, Russia has [...]
Ongoing Russian crimes against Ukraine are egregious and overlapping. Most conspicuous of these crimes are Vladimir Putin’s acts of aggression and of genocide. Jurisprudentially, even if Putin lacks any confirmable “intent to destroy” specific Ukrainian populations, Russia’s law-breaking behavior would still rise to the level of other relevant criteria or standards. Most recognizable, in this [...]
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center overturned the landmark case Roe v. Wade. It is essential to clarify the specific right Roe established. It was not an unqualified affirmative right to abortion but a right protecting a woman from unduly burdensome interference with her freedom to [...]
In Terminiello v. Chicago, Justice Jackson famously commented that the constitution “is not a suicide pact.” His point was in response to the Court’s decision to invalidate Chicago’s disorderly conduct conviction of Arthur Terminiello, who had given a speech that threatened to breach the peace. Writing for the Court, Justice Douglas rejected Chicago’s assessment that [...]
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of President Biden’s speech criticizing the Supreme Court’s rejection of Roe v. Wade is that he gave the speech at all. Presidents historically have wisely refrained from commenting on Supreme Court decisions. Biden’s delivery of the speech on the very same morning that the Court delivered its opinion in Dobbs [...]
“The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” — Dante Alighieri The world came together almost as one on February 24, 2022, when the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine. This was a unique moment where the world order, based on the rule of law, rallied around [...]
