Legal News

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Thursday that Hungary’s restrictive asylum laws passed during the COVID-19 pandemic violated European Union (EU) law. The law requires that foreign nationals seeking international protection in Hungary first submit declarations of intent at the Hungarian embassies in Belgrade, Serbia or Kyiv, Ukraine. The Court found that the condition [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that former government employees can sue the city of San Francisco, California for infringing on their religious freedom after they were denied exemptions from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The court found that the vaccines are remotely “derived” from aborted fetal stem cells and that [...]

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law Wednesday that will provide disability benefits to first responders who contracted COVID-19 before vaccines were available. House Bill (HB) 3162, known as the Act-of-Duty Bill, previously only provided disability pay for various physical and mental conditions, including heart attacks. Specifically, the law provides benefits for those [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Thursday blocked President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees. The decision came from an en banc rehearing of the appeal, which was previously decided in favor of the government by a three-judge panel of the same court. The case turned on the central issue [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Tuesday issued a 10-2 opinion affirming a lower court’s decision to dismiss claims for federal hazard pay based on exposure to COVID-19 made by a group of federal correctional officers from Connecticut. The court considered “whether theory of recovery satisfies one of specifically delineated categories for [...]

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhnom Ghebreyesus Saturday spoke with the Director of China’s National Health Commission Ma Xiaowei about the COVID-19 surge the country is currently facing. During the meeting, Chinese officials provided information to WHO on the outbreak in China. The information included “outpatient clinics, hospitalizations, patients requiring emergency treatment and [...]

The Pentagon Tuesday ended its COVID-19 vaccination requirements for US Armed Forces members, 96 percent of whom are now vaccinated against the illness. The Department stated in a memo that it will continue to promote COVID-19 vaccination among the armed forces. The memo alters the impact of the National Defence Authorisation Act which came into [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday filed an 86-page brief with the Supreme Court in response to two cases against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan: Joseph Biden v. State of Nebraska and Department of Education v. Myra Brown. The brief agrees with a district court’s holding in Nebraska that the States challenging [...]

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Wednesday asked the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to rescind new COVID-19 travel restrictions. The restrictions, due to take effect from Friday and set to last until the end of January 2023, will limit inbound flights from HKSAR and Macao to four airports on the main island of Honshu. [...]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wednesday announced the US will require a negative COVID-19 test for airline travelers from China before boarding. The CDC announced the order to slow the spread of COVID cases in the US during China’s current surge of COVID cases. The announcement noted the “lack of adequate and [...]