By: Emily Bengel.
A group of Italian families has filed a complaint with Italian prosecutors in Bergamo against “persons unknown” for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The families say they just want someone to pay for what has happened to their loved ones. The question is whether they can be successful and what that could mean for the rest of the world.
Read MoreBy: Mary Bradley.
After the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed the NAFTA replacement, Mexico enacted new amendments to its Federal Copyright Law and criminal code. These new “robust” protections provide for some much needed update, but are challenged for chilling citizens’ constitutionally-guaranteed right to free expression.
Read MoreBy: Gary Cooper.
The death of George Floyd galvanized the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S., resulting in increased media attention, demonstrations, protests, riots, and a few legal changes in select states. However, the movement was not restricted to the U.S. and the effects of George Floyd’s death were just as profound in Great Britain.
Read MoreBy: Dominick Cortez.
Carlos Ghosn, a former executive officer of Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi, was arrested in Japan and detained for nearly 6 months with no indictment. The international community has renewed its charges that Japan has a “hostage criminal justice system.” Japan does not agree and will not be changing its criminal procedure.
Read MoreBy: Kevin Cowan.
A potential conflict in outer space threatens the world’s use of GPS, online banking, and mobile phones among other systems. Russia’s recent launches of satellites brings back the discussion of regulating space warfare.
Read MoreBy: Joe Giacolone.
Sweden never engaged in a full lockdown in spite of the Coronavirus Pandemic, and unlike most of its European neighbors, relied on voluntary social compliance and measures meant to protect its most vulnerable populations. This article explores what Sweden’s measures were and why these measures were taken. (This article was written in August 2020)
Read MoreBy: Bradley Harrah.
Berlin, Germany has adopted a rent stabilization policy to stop out of control rental prices, but will this policy cause more harm than good?
Read MoreBy: Douglas Johnson.
The ability of the government to expropriate private lands to further a public interest is generally granted via the constitution in most countries. In the United States, the government must fairly compensate landowners for land that is taken, but is this the same for Ecuador? The answer is yes…in theory. However, the Ecuadorian government’s conduct in its efforts to bring the Yachay “city of knowledge” to fruition suggests that landowners are not paid fairly, if paid at all, and projects are ill-conceived and poorly executed.
Read MoreBy: Simonne Kapadia.
Canada has a long history of separating Indigenous children in government care programs from their homes and culture. Legislation enacted in January 2020 attempts to correct this erasure of Indigenous culture by prioritizing Indigenous children’s cultural and familial backgrounds when making care decisions and placements.
Read MoreBy: Andrew Malec.
As Malta continues to monitor and fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus, new privacy concerns have emerged with regard to popular contract tracing applications that may jeopardize individual privacy and infringe on the country’s data privacy laws as well as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Read MoreBy: Tessa Mallett
In 2013, the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,134 garment workers and injuring over 2,0000. The tragedy sparked public outrage, with many demanding change. This short post examines the changes in the fast fashion industry after the collapse and what it looks like today in Bangladesh.
Read MoreBy: Adara Manamperi.
With the Appellate Body’s existence in limbo due to the United States’ decision to block new appointments, it leaves other member states with no alternative but to create a dispute settlement system of their own, or alternatively lose the right to appeal case decisions by the Dispute Settlement Panel. Without the Appellate Body, and in addition, the current COVID-19 Pandemic, the dangers of protectionist and retaliatory measures are high, and it begs the question: will the WTO be able to survive without the Appellate Body?
Read MoreBy: Margaret Marshall
The deterrence theory is a theory that has been utilized in criminal law for centuries. It is the idea that if you punish those for committing crimes, then others will be deterred from committing the same crime. A modified version of this theory was recently utilized in Namibia to deter individuals from committing the crime of illegal wildlife poaching at all levels—those in the illegal international wildlife crime rings and those local villagers who poach out of desperation. This blog post looks at the modified deterrence theory approach and calls for the use of Namibia’s new approach in other countries to combat illegal wildlife poaching.
Read MoreBy: Jasmine Shafquat.
On January 1, 2020, Norway officially became the last Nordic country to allow dual citizenship. Within the first few months of this law taking effect, 26,000 individuals applied for Norwegian citizenship, which increased the country’s citizenship wait list from 14,000 to 40,000.
Read MoreBy: Konrad Starostka.
Poland’s presidential election was a hotly contested race with narrow margins. The reelection of Duda, a right-wing politician, further disenfranchises the LGBT community.
Read MoreBy: Peter Veldkamp.
Iceland faced the worst financial crisis in 2008 of any country relative to its size. Unlike the United States, Iceland took a unique path to recovery that has largely been categorized as a success. This blog outlines several distinctive features of Iceland’s recovery, as well as some of the accompanying issues in its enactment.
Read MoreBy: Alexandra Welke.
For years, India has allocated a small percentage of funding to public health. Increased medical costs and lack of funding from the country is resulting in an inequality in who is able to seek health care treatment. Increasing India’s budget on health and family planning may help individuals desperately in need.
Read MoreBy: Megan Wilson
The Brazilian tax system has been one of the most complicated and difficult to comply with for many years. Administrations have been hesitant to do anything about this because any attempted fix will be complicated, take a long time, and likely be unpopular. Changes may finally be coming – and hopefully staying.
Read MoreAfter the legalization of homosexual marriages and decriminalization of prostitution, judges in Taiwan advocate for decriminalization of adultery, another bold proposal in family law. The supporters argue adultery is a gendered crime discriminating women and violating freedom of marriage. The opponents are with the public opinion that such reform is too early to make, and adultery crime mainly aims at protecting marriage as the cornerstone of the society, not happy marriages.
Read MoreBy: Jacob Vande Zande
This brief blog explores the debate around secularism in France, the international community’s response to France’s 2004 headscarf ban, and the arguments surrounding France’s strong commitment to secularism.
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