The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) refused to grant leave to the government on Friday to appeal the acquittals of seven pro-democracy activists. The lower court overturned the activists’ convictions for organizing an unauthorized assembly but upheld their convictions for participating in an unauthorized assembly. The lower court reasoned that leading and directing [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declined a request made by the Supreme Court of Estonia to give an advisory opinion in relation to the prohibition of double jeopardy on Monday. The ECHR held that the question submitted by Estonia is the subject of well-established case law. Therefore, the ECHR concluded that it is [...]

Canada’s Federal Court declared Tuesday that the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice violated their duties to appoint judges to vacancies in superior courts. Federal Court Justice Henry Brown further wrote that the failure to fill judicial vacancies denies Canadians access to justice without delay, a constitutionally enshrined right. The applicant Yavar Hameed, as a [...]

Russia announced new sanctions against 18 British nationals in response to the UK’s “confrontational policies” against the country on Monday. However, the statement did not mention which particular policy the sanctions are responding to. The sanctions were made against not only the UK’s government officials but also scholars. These newly sanctioned individuals will be denied [...]

The Hong Kong Police Force confirmed that opposition activist Agnes Chow Ting is listed as wanted, at the year-end press conference held on Tuesday. Chow recently completed her jail sentence of 10 months based on her convictions for one count of “taking part in an unauthorized assembly without lawful authority or reasonable excuse” and one [...]

The Israeli Public Defender’s Office warned in a report on Tuesday against worsening conditions of incarceration in prison service facilities. The report stated that the overcrowding in prison service facilities violated a prior High Court ruling and international standards. It called for immediate actions to improve prison conditions in Israel. The report stated that nearly [...]

The Paris Criminal Court acquitted former justice minister François Bayrou for his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme that embezzled European public funds on Monday. However, the court found another eight defendants, including five former members of the European Parliament (MEPs) guilty and passed jail sentences ranging from ten to eighteen months. At issue in [...]

The Federal Court of Canada urged the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to “do better” in fulfilling its duty owed to the court, according to a decision handed down by Chief Justice Crampton in October. The decision was declassified on Tuesday. The decision dealt with potential misrepresentations to the court in warrants to obtain Canadian [...]

Three foreign-born Japanese residents have filed a statement of claim against the Japanese national and local governments for the alleged police practice of racial profiling. Each of the applicants sought damages of 3.3 million Japanese Yen. The three applicants are Pakistani, African-American and Pacific Lander respectively, who also are either Japanese citizens or permanent residents. [...]

On Monday, the wife of the imprisoned Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza announced that Russian authorities removed him from the maximum security prison in Siberia and his current whereabouts are unknown. Following this announcement, the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron urged the Russian authorities to provide Kara-Murza’s lawyers [...]