The unconstitutional state of affairs doctrine, having its roots in a 1998 judgement of the Colombian Constitutional Court (CCC), has gained immense popularity due to the systemic, policy-based, manifestly illegal acts of executive branches of governments worldwide. Calls for recognizing the existence of an unconstitutional state of affairs have persistently been made in the Latin [...]

Water scarcity is a growing problem. It can be demand-driven, typically caused by population growth, and supply-driven, typically caused by decreasing amounts of fresh water often resulting from climate change or a result of societal factors such as poverty. If it is allowed to reach dangerous levels, water scarcity has the potential to trigger conflicts. [...]

The most important consequence of the protests in Iran for the Iranian diaspora, a diaspora that has been largely unorganized and passive until now, is the opening of a new arena for it in socio-political life as part of Iranian society, even if it has not yet found its appropriate representation and organizational structures. The [...]

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) was established under the 2004 Constitution, which defined the powers and functions of the executive, judiciary, and legislative branches. Under it, the president was constitutionally considered the head of state with authority in the three branches mentioned above. As the head of state, the president had [...]

Nepal is a least developed, land-locked Himalayan country wedged between India and China. After a long period of instability, it adopted a new constitution in 2015, creating a multi-party federal republic. Previously Nepal had been a unitary state, albeit with a long period of political instability and insurgency. The first election under the Constitution was [...]

On December 22, 2022, the US House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol released its 845-page Final Report. The Report described events leading up to, during, and in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. It also set out information about the individuals who were involved [...]

Recently, Thailand passed an important human rights law following significant pressure from many parties including NGOs, victims of torture, relatives of the dead and missing, and investigative journalists. On 24 October 2022, the King signed into law the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances Act which Parliament enacted on 26 August 2022. This [...]

In 2013, the United Nations (UN) established the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to address conflict in the Sahel region. Support for MINUSMA, the deadliest UN mission, has declined, especially after Western leaders have increasingly focused on the Russian intervention in Ukraine. In fact, several Western countries have announced their withdrawal from MUNUSMA, [...]

JURIST Features Editor Ingrid Burke Friedman talked with Brian Concannon, a human rights lawyer and the executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti about the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti. Below is a transcript of their conversation, which has been edited for clarity. Could you please tell us more about your [...]

Recent concerns about leaks of US Supreme Court decisions and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself in a case that might involve connections to his wife, Virginia Thomas, have spurred calls for a code of ethics for US Supreme Court justices. Although the Judicial Conference of the United States promulgated a Code of Conduct [...]