Legal News

The World Trade Organization (WTO) early Friday agreed to the first changes to global trade regulations in many years, following contentious round-the-clock negotiations. Seven decisions and declarations were agreed upon by day six of the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was originally planned for four days. Much of the contention came from negotiations around an intellectual [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Thursday urged members of the African Union (AU) to take drastic steps to protect young girls and women. The report was released on the AU’s the Day of the African Child. Among the concerns raised by HRW are child marriage, free education for children, and allowing pregnant girls and young women [...]

Vietnamese authorities have arrested senior officials for bribery, including Chu Ngoc Anh, former Minister of Science and Technology, Nguyen Thanh Long, Minister of Health, and Pham Cong Tac, former Deputy Minister of Science and Technology. The case against the officials stems from the inflation of COVID-19 test kit prices by the Viet-A Technology Corporation. Phan [...]

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Hurd Friday allowed a defamation claim against New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to proceed. Former New Jersey Department of Health Assistant Commissioner Christopher Neuwirth filed the defamation complaint, accusing Governor Murphy of spreading a false story that he was terminated for performing outside consulting work without approval. Neuwirth alleges he was actually [...]

A Florida appeals court Wednesday held that the University of South Florida (USF) cannot invoke sovereign immunity to avoid a COVID-19 student fees lawsuit. USF appealed a trial court’s denial of “its motion to dismiss in which it asserted the defense of sovereign immunity.” USF argued in its appeal that sovereign immunity should apply, which [...]

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin Wednesday ruled that a Milwaukee-based coffee roster cannot file property insurance claims for COVID-19-related income losses. The case stemmed from a dispute between Colectivo Coffee Roasters and their property insurer, Society Insurance. Under the insurance policy, Society would pay for “direct physical loss of or damage” that occurs to Colectivo’s [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit challenging a federal judge’s April order that overturned the federal public transportation mask mandate. The Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) implemented the federal mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The federal mask [...]

The UK Government Friday released a policy paper explaining revisions to the Ministerial Code, a set of guidelines for the conduct of its ministers. The changes relax the consequences for minor violations of the code and expand the role of the independent advisor, an executive appointee responsible for advising the prime minister on code violations. [...]

Amnesty International Tuesday released its annual Report on Death Sentences and Executions which noted a sharp increase in executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia while describing global use of the death penalty between January and December 2021.  The report reflects that there was a rise in executions and death sentences in 2021 after Covid-19 restrictions [...]

The Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to end the controversial Title 42 was Friday blocked by Judge Robert Summerhays of the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Title 42 allows border patrol officials to quickly deport migrants at the US-Mexico border, whether or not they are legally seeking asylum, in order to stop the [...]