Jacob Zuma banned from running in South Africa's election
The Constitutional Court in South Africa has ruled that former President Jacob Zuma cannot run for parliament, just days before a critical election. [ more ]
South Africa's Highest Court Says Jacob Zuma Can't Run in Election
The Constitutional Court of South Africa barred former President Jacob Zuma from the upcoming election due to a past criminal conviction, impacting the country's political landscape. [ more ]
Poland's Duda sends new judicial reform law for court review DW 02/11/2023
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro on Saturday praised President Andrzej Duda's decision to send a new law on judicial accountability for review in the Constitutional Court.Lawmakers at the powerful lower house of parliament, or Sejm, approved the bill earlier this week.The parliament is narrowly controlled by the ruling Law and Justice Party and its junior partners.
Thai court rules Move Forward party must end bid to reform lese-majesty law
Thailand's constitutional court has ruled that the opposition party's pledge to reform the country's lese-majesty law is unlawful.
The court ordered the Move Forward party and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, to stop all forms of communication aimed at bringing reforms to the law. [ more ]
Thai court rules MFP bid to reform lese majeste law violates constitution
Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that the Move Forward Party violated the constitution by seeking to change the royal defamation law.
The court stated that the party's proposal amounted to an attempt to separate the monarchy from the Thai nation and overthrow the democratic regime with the king as the head of state.
The ruling could set a precedent for future reviews of the royal defamation law, which carries penalties of up to 15 years in jail. [ more ]
German court ruling sparks calls to stop state funding for far-right AfD
The constitutional court in Germany has ruled to cut state funding to a minor far-right political party, Die Heimat, due to its aim of undermining or overthrowing German democracy.
This decision has sparked calls for similar rules to be applied to the rightwing populist party AfD, which is facing controversy over its immigration policy. [ more ]
Top German court strips financing of extremist right party DW 01/23/2024
Germany's Constitutional Court ruled that the extremist party Die Heimat (formerly NPD) should have its state subsidies withdrawn and tax relief canceled for six years.
The ruling could have implications for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and discussions around similar measures being taken against them. [ more ]
German government faces budget crisis DW 11/20/2023
The German Constitutional Court ruled that the government cannot reallocate 60 billion euros meant for COVID-19 pandemic relief to address climate change.
The ruling was based on Germany's debt rules, known as the 'debt brake', which restricts new debt to 0.35% of nominal GDP annually for the federal government.
The court's decision is a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government and its climate-friendly projects. [ more ]
Hundreds of thousands of French protest Macron reforms on May Day
People attend the traditional May Day march, a day of mobilization against the French pension reform law and for social justice, in Paris, on Monday.(Benoit Tessier/Reuters)Comment Gift Article France's traditional May Day parade celebrating workers' rights and achievements on Monday is expected to even larger than usual this year against the backdrop of fierce public rejection of a law increasing the retirement age.
Paris breathes easier as refuse workers' strike called off and rubbish cleared
The smell of spring is in the air in Paris.It makes a change from the stench of overflowing bins that had hung over the French capital for the last three weeks after refuse collectors went on strike and up to 10,000 metric tonnes of festering rubbish piled up on the streets.Hours after the CGT trade union announced it was suspending the industrial action and lifting a blockade of incinerators serving the city, much of the rubbish had gone.
Macron Faces Votes of No Confidence Amid French Protests Over Pension Reform Plan
Emmanuel Macron's government will face two confidence votes as soon as Monday amid anger over the French president's decision to bypass the legislature in pushing through his unpopular pension reform that will boost the minimum retirement age to 64 from 62.If a no-confidence motion gets a majority of votes an unlikely scenario the pension bill would be nullified and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne would have to resign.
Climate group sues German government for missing targets
Seven residents in Germany are taking the government to court over the poor air quality around their homes, an organisation representing them said on Monday.Published: 26 September 2022 17:03 CEST The residents of Berlin, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich believe current government legislation is demonstrably inadequate to protect people's health, according to the organisation, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH).
Italy's constitutional court upholds Covid vaccine mandate as fines kick in
Judges were asked this week to determine whether or not vaccine mandates introduced by the previous government during the pandemic which applied to healthcare and school staff as well as over-50s breached the fundamental rights set out by Italy's constitution.Italy became the first country in Europe to make it obligatory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated, ruling in 2021 that they must have the jab or be transferred to other roles or suspended without pay.
Top German court rejects appeal over neo-Nazi murder spree
Germany's top court on Monday rejected an appeal by the only known survivor of a far-right group against her conviction and life sentence for her part in the killing of 10 people, most with migrant roots.
German Court Rules Police Use of Crimefighting Software Unlawful
A top German court has ruled that police use of automated data analysis to prevent crime in some German states violates their constitutions, backing opponents of software provided by U.S. company Palantir Technologies.The constitutional court determined provisions regulating the technology's employment in the states of Hesse and Hamburg breach the right to informational self-determination.
Berlin holds court-ordered rerun of chaotic state election
The city of Berlin on Sunday is holding a court-ordered rerun of a chaotic 2021 state election that was marred by severe glitches at many polling stations that led to hours-long lines as some polling places ran out of ballot papers or received ones for the wrong district.Berliners have long been frustrated by the German capital's notoriously dysfunctional ways, which have been defying cliches of German efficiency for years and have made the city the laughing stock of the rest of the country.
Austrian children sue government for failing to protect them from climate crisis
A dozen children have filed a lawsuit against the Austrian government asking it to take tougher action against climate change as a protection of their constitutional rights, the latest such litigation amid a growing tide of lawsuits against governments and companies worldwide.The children, as young as five years old, filed the lawsuit in Austrias top court on Tuesday seeking to force the government to take stronger climate action.
Spanish People's party stops far-right anti-abortion move from going ahead
The conservative leader of Spain's Castilla y Leon region has defied his far-right coalition partners by insisting that a series of controversial anti-abortion protocols that prompted the central government to launch legal action will not be enacted.Last week the far-right Vox party, which governs Castilla y Leon in coalition with the larger conservative People's party (PP), announced pro-life proposals that would oblige doctors to offer women seeking terminations a 4D scan, a chance to listen to the foetal heartbeat, and a psychological consultation.
Spanish judges block draft legislation that would affect their own court
Conservative judges at Spain's constitutional court have taken the unprecedented step of suspending the passage of legislation that would overhaul the way appointments to the court are made.Last week, the Socialist-led coalition government managed to get its changes to the penal code through congress, the lower house of Spain's parliament.
A Judge Just Used ChatGPT to Make a Court Decision
Thomas Coex / Getty Images A judge in Colombia used ChatGPT to make a court ruling, in what is apparently the first time a legal decision has been made with the help of an AI text generatoror at least, the first time we know about it.Judge Juan Manuel Padilla Garcia, who presides over the First Circuit Court in the city of Cartagena, said he used the AI tool to pose legal questions about the case and included its responses in his decision, according to a court document dated January 30, 2023.
Italy elections: What a win for the far right's Giorgia Meloni could mean for Europe
Polls opened in Italy on Sunday in an election that is forecast to return the country's most right-wing government since World War Two and also herald its first woman prime minister.
Ex-President Unlawfully Released From Jail, South African Court Rules
JOHANNESBURG A South African court ruled on Monday that a decision to allow former President Jacob Zuma to serve out a 15-month sentence at home on medical grounds after he failed to cooperate with a corruption inquiry was unlawful, raising the possibility that he may have to return to prison.A court ordered the arrest of Mr. Zuma in June last year, for defying an order to appear before a corruption inquiry examining the financial scandals that tainted his tenure as the country's leader from 2009 to 2018.
Berlin court orders rerun of chaotic 2021 state election
A Berlin court on Wednesday ordered a rerun of the German capital's 2021 state election because of severe election-day glitches at many polling stations.The constitutional court of Berlin, one of three German cities that is also a state in its own right, declared the original vote invalid, news agency dpa reported.
With annexation plans, Putin escalates a battle of wills with the West.
As President Vladimir V. Putin plans to carry out his threat on Friday to declare that some 40,000 square miles of eastern and southern Ukraine will become part of Russia, it is not clear whether even Russia's staunchest allies will recognize his claim to the territory.
Russia plans to illegally annex lands it invaded, even as its military falters.
Even though Russia has failed to fully control the four territories it seeks to annex, the Kremlin is preparing a show designed to present a sheen of legitimacy to its illegal takeover.
Russia plans to illegally annex lands it invaded, even as its military falters.
The Kremlin announced that it would hold a ceremony on Friday to begin absorbing four Ukrainian territories, pressing ahead with a widely condemned annexation effort even as Ukrainian forces gain ground in some of those areas.