The Law The United States’ Fair Housing Act (FHA) 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619 Section 3604(b) states that “…it is unlawful [t]o discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith,...

The Laws Regional standards: Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which secures the rights and freedoms of the ECHR without discrimination, read with the right to respect for family life under Article 8 and the protection of property rights in Article 1 of the First...

The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child considered a communication concerning child slavery and held Mauritania accountable for multiple violations of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The Committee is an African Union body set up to protect...

UK Court expands definition of domestic violence in context of housing rights The Supreme Court of the UK confirmed that the legal definition of the word ‘violence’ expands beyond physical contact, to encompass emotional and psychological as well as financial abuse, for the purposes of being classified as homeless...

This is the first judgment delivered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that recognizes the direct enforceability of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) under Article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights. In this case, a labor leader successfully asserted a claim against Peru for violating...

Summary:  In 2004, a small number of lightly armed rebels tried to take control of Kilwa, a remote fishing town in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo). About 50 km away from Kilwa there is a copper and silver mine, where Anvil Mining Company (Anvil Mining), a small Australian-Canadian...

Summary:  The appellant, E.L., a 26 year old mother of four living with HIV, was charged and convicted in the lower court under Section 192 of the Malawian Penal Code (Code) for unlawfully (negligently) engaging in an act likely to spread a disease dangerous to life. The prosecution argued...

Law Four-yearly review of modern awards under section 156 of the federal Fair Work Act 2009. Reasoning Building on the success of collective bargaining for clauses supporting workers facing domestic and gender-based violence (GBV), and concerned for female and male workers not covered by agreements, the Australian Council of...

Summary:  Shayara Bano was married for 15 years. In 2016, her husband divorced her through talaq–e-bidat (triple talaq). This is an Islamic practice that permits men to arbitrarily and unilaterally effect instant and irrevocable divorce by pronouncing the word “talaq” (Arabic for divorce) three times at once in oral, written or,...

Summary:  Prior to the enactment of the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 (Fees Order) in the UK, a claimant could pursue and appeal employment proceedings without paying any fee. Fees were introduced under the Fees Order, with the amount varying depending on factors including...

The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights found Spain in violation of the right to adequate housing under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The decision confirms that any eviction of tenants from private rental accommodation must comply with the right to adequate housing,...

Participatory implementation of D.H. case promotes inclusion of Roma children in Czech schools In this case, applicants challenged the disproportionate classification of Roma school children in the Czech Republic as having special education needs as well as their segregation into schools for children with “Light Mental Disabilities”. The European...

This case focused on whether school funding by the State of Kansas was equitable and adequate, as required under the relevant state constitutional provisions regulating the provision of education. Upon finding violations in connection with the equitable distribution of funds and the adequacy of such funds to ensure constitutionally...

This case focuses on the compulsory acquisition of land by the State of West Bengal for a car manufacturing unit under the auspices of “public purpose”. The Supreme Court of India determined that the acquisition had not been for a public purpose, but for the benefit of a company,...

Se modifica el parágrafo del artículo 236 del Código Sustantivo del Trabajo que se modifico originalmente por la Ley 755, considerando que en cualquier caso la licencia de paternidad será de 8...

Summary:  In February 2016, a Romani woman gave birth a public hospital in Miskolc, north-eastern Hungary. During labour she cried out with pain and the midwife yelled at her “if you shout once more I will push the pillow into your face”. When the woman apologised, the doctor said...

 Summary:  In January 2012, up to 53 women underwent a sterilization procedure in Bihar, India, at a sterilization camp managed by an NGO which had been granted accreditation by the District Health Society, apparently without following any formal, transparent process. The women had not been given any counseling regarding...

Summary: This case concerns a directive issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta ordering the collection of data and the preparation of a report pertaining to school-going children, guardians, and expectant and breastfeeding mothers living with HIV. The High Court of Kenya at Nairobi found this action to be in violation...

Nature of the Case Delayed textbook delivery has plagued public schools in Limpopo, South Africa’s northernmost province for several years. The Department of Basic Education and Limpopo Department of Education appealed a high court decision holding that their failure to ensure timely delivery of textbooks to learners in Limpopo...

Nature of the Case Among other issues, the Constitutional Court revoked licenses for all 347 private mining companies that had previously been granted approval for mining in the páramo (moorland), an ecologically endangered region of the Colombian Andes. Summary Members of the leftist opposition party, the Democratic Pole and...

Nature of the Case Two men successfully challenged their imprisonment, purportedly pursuant to the Public Health Act, for failure to take prescribed tuberculosis (TB) medication. Summary In 2010, Daniel Ng’etich and Patrick Kipng’etich Kirui were arrested by the Public Health Officer, Nandi Central District Tuberculosis Defaulter Tracing Coordinator, who...

The decision originated in separate employer decisions to discharge from the Mexican Army two HIV-positive servicemen who had tested for the virus in standard army-run medical examinations. In the first case, J.S.C.H. had been in the army as a driver for 19 years. The second case involved M.G.S., an...

Nature of the Case In views adopted under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee held the Peruvian government accountable for failing to ensure access to legal abortion services essential to the health of the petitioner, thus violating her...

Nature of the Case Upon consideration of a communication submitted before it, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination held the Republic of Korea accountable for multiple violations of rights under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, including the right to...

Nature of the Case:  The case concerns a landlord’s profit-making by levying electrical service charges on tenants over and above the rent and the actual cost of electricity they consumed. The court characterized the Rental Housing Tribunal’s ruling in the initial complaint as administrative action and reviewed it to...