Philippe LeDoux Archives - JURIST - Commentary

Commentaries by Philippe LeDoux

Hong Kong Ruling Strengthens Rights Protection on Same-Sex Relations

June 29, 2019 12:36:43 pm

Nearly 120 years after Hong Kong made sodomy punishable by a possible life sentence, a recent court ruling marks a further step toward completely decriminalizing same-sex relations. In 2007, Hong Kong scrapped its British-era sodomy law. But, for over a decade, several remaining provisions in its Crime Ordinance continued to single out male same-sex relations, [...]

READ MORE ▸

Commentary

Inclusive Marriage for Taiwan

Philippe LeDoux

March 22, 2019 09:04:20 pm

The clock is ticking on the deadline set by the Constitutional Court of Taiwan to amend the law to allow same-sex couples to marry. On May 24, 2017, the court declared Taiwan’s existing marriage law unconstitutional on grounds of discrimination and gave parliament two years to amend it to include same-sex couples. If the government [...]

READ MORE ▸

Accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, put on trial in Israel

On February 16, 1987, accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, went on trial in Jerusalem, Israel. The prosecution claimed that Demjanjuk was a notorious prison guard known as "Ivan the Terrible" at the Treblinka extermination camp during World War II. On this basis, Demjanjuk was convicted by the Israeli court of crimes against humanity. However, in August 1993, the conviction was overturned by Israel's Supreme Court on a finding of reasonable doubt. After the decision by the Supreme Court of Israel, Demjanjuk was returned to the United States, where he had been moved after World War II. On December 22, 2006, the US Board of Immigration Appeals ordered him deported to Ukraine on a finding that he had been a guard at other Nazi concentration camps.

American anarchist arrested for advocating birth control

On February 16, 1916, feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman was arrested in New York City for advocating birth control. Learn more about Emma Goldman and her defense of reproductive rights from the University of California, Berkeley.