Introduction: “Climate Change Crisis as a Child Crisis” On October 11, the UN Child Rights Committee (the Committee) ruled on a historic communications procedure brought forward by 16 children (plaintiffs) against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and Turkey for failing to prevent and mitigate the consequences of climate change (Nos. 104-108/2019). Although the State parties have [...]
Twenty years ago this week, pursuant to a UN Security Council resolution, the United Nations (UN) entered into a bi-lateral treaty with the Republic of Sierra Leone, to create the world’s first hybrid international war crimes tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone. A delegation travelled to the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, to hold [...]
Interacting with the dead is no longer science fiction. Digital technologies have evolved to the extent that they can be—and are being used—to emulate the dead. During the last five years, media reports recount efforts of people who have tried and developed, with different degrees of success, chatbots based on a deceased person’s digital data: [...]
Starting from August 5th, the Taliban marched across Afghanistan in only ten days, seizing control of villages and cities across the country. They eventually took over the entire country on August 15th. After conquering the presidential palace, the historical seat of Afghan power, Taliban officials declared the establishment of an Islamic Emirate, vowing to re-configure the [...]
“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” – John F. Kennedy Fukuyama’s “The End of History” paper claimed that the western liberal democracy is the final form of the human-governance evolution. His argument relied on the Democratic Peace Theory, originating from the early 1700s, which states that most democratic [...]
2021 is ending sadly for Americans who believe in the rule of law, the supremacy of constitutional rights and/or the institutional authority and reputation of the US Supreme Court. On September 1 and again on December 10, five Supreme Court Justices essentially hoisted the white flag of surrender when presented with different challenges to S.B. [...]
The Supreme Court will overturn the law recognizing a woman’s fundamental right to choose an abortion. The only question is whether it will go even further and jeopardize women’s equality, reproductive rights, and family privacy rights for all. Pending in the Court is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the question of the constitutionality [...]
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on many aspects of our modern lives. Mandatory face masks, local and national lockdowns, and compulsory social distancing in public places have become a part of everyday routines all around the world. The pandemic has also tested the regulatory and administrative capacity of both states and international organizations to [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on December 17 in a bipartisan, 2-1 decision upheld OSHA’s vaccine-or-test requirements for the American workplace and lifted a stay previously put in place by the Fifth Circuit. Judge Jane Stranch, an Obama appointee, joined by Judge Julia Gibbons, appointed by George W. Bush, wrote that [...]
On November 15, the AP reported on the attempt of a beloved Palestinian doctor, Izzeldin Abuelaish to obtain an apology for a terrible tragedy—the 2009 killing of his three daughters (Aya, Bessan and Mayar) and his niece (Noor) by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) who shelled his home in Gaza 13 years ago. As the AP explains, [...]
