· December, 2012

Stories about Law from December, 2012

Sri Lanka's Judiciary-Executive clash

Law and Other Things has updates on the proceedings that were initiated in the Sri Lankan Parliament to impeach the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Dr Shirani Bandaranayake.

30 December 2012

Saudi Activist Trial Hearing Concludes

The last hearing session of one of Saudi Arabia's rare public trials of two prominent human rights activists Mohammad Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamid was held at the Riyadh Criminal Court. During the hearing, the judge said he had a report he wanted to discuss with the two activists. Dr. al-Qahtani discovered it was sourced from an anonymous Twitter user.

29 December 2012

Opposition NPP Takes Ghana Presidential Election Results to Court

The largest opposition party in Ghana, NPP, has refused to accept the presidential election results. On 9 December 2012, the Electoral Commission declared President Mahama winner by 50.70% of the votes, beating his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP. NPP formally filed a petition at the Supreme Court on 28 December, 2012.

29 December 2012

Chinese Scholars Test the New Leadership's Will to Political Reform

More than 70 Chinese scholars and legal experts co-signed a petition urging the new Chinese Communist Party leaders to reform according to the existing Chinese Constitution. Many believe that the moderate reform gesture is to test the CCP new leadership's will to political reform.

28 December 2012

Mexico: Federal Court Halts Controversial Wind Park

The largely indigenous opposition to wind farms in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec of Oaxaca, Mexico won a tremendous victory when a District Seven Federal Court judge granted an injunction temporarily halting the construction of a controversial wind park in San Dioniosio del Mar in the southern state of Oaxaca. While the indigenous Ikojts (Huave) peoples of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec celebrated and called for government and industry to comply with the decision, their grassroots struggle continues.

27 December 2012

Balochistan Gets a Military Operation On Christmas Eve

The Pakistan army has launched a military operation in the Awaran district of Balochistan on Christmas Eve which resulted in many casualties. Apparently the operation was targeting the Tehsil Mashkai of separatist leader Dr. Allah Nazar’s home in Mahi village.

27 December 2012

China Considers Real Name Registration for All Internet Users

Following the call for more internet supervision by state-run People’s Daily newspaper last week, Xinhua news reported on December 24, 2012 that the Chinese government is considering a new law requiring real-name registration for its 500 million internet users.

26 December 2012

Bahrain Police “Slap” Video Goes Viral

Two years ago what has become known as “The Arab Spring” was sparked when a member of the Tunisian police forces slapped a young man in Sidi Bouzid. People thought that the days of police suppression will be over soon, but in Bahrain yet another video has gone viral to remind us that police states are alive and well.

25 December 2012

Who Supports Russia's Ban on American Adoptions?

RuNet Echo

A slight majority of Russian internet users support the ban on adoptions by Americans. 50% do not understand the motivation for international adoptions, and 60% think that such adoptions endanger children. Who are these people, and what are they saying?

24 December 2012

Jailed Kuwait Stateless Activist Tweets Torture Ordeal

Over the past two years, people outside the Gulf, have been exposed to the issue of statelessness in the region as the Bedoon (which translates to without in Arabic) communities protest for their rights to education, health, employment, and most importantly, their right to citizenship.

23 December 2012

Rohingya Refugees Rejected by Singapore

Singapore turned away 40 Rohingya shipwreck survivors who were rescued by a Vietnamese ship. Singapore netizens and human rights groups reacted strongly to the decision of authorities to send away the refugees.

23 December 2012

Veteran Director Raises Curtain on China's Arbitrary Film Censorship Policy

The screening of controversial film V for Vendetta on the state broadcaster China Central Television has stirred up hope for censorship reform in China. On December 15, 2012, 70-year-old film director Xie Fei, a heavyweight in China's film industry and professor at the Beijing Film Academy, published an open letter on his micro-blog, advocating for the replacement of movie censorship with a rating system.

21 December 2012