International Law

Poland’s top judge defies law that lowers retirement age

Despite Polish legislation that requires a third of its Supreme Court justices to retire based on their ages, they showed up to work this week.

Jul 5, 2018 10:43 AM CDT

International etiquette: Minding your manners when practicing abroad (podcast)

You may be confident of your ability to act with courtesy and professionalism in your home country. But with the array of cultural differences, social mores and business traditions you may encounter while traveling, how can you be sure you’re not offending clients and alienating foreign judges and arbiters?

Jun 25, 2018 7:05 AM CDT

Profile in Courage Award-winner to lead ABA Center for Global Programs

A former general counsel to the U.S. Navy who has been honored for his human rights advocacy was named on Monday to be the new director of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative, and will oversee the association's international human rights programs.

May 14, 2018 1:10 PM CDT

Parents of Otto Warmbier sue North Korea over death of their son

The parents of University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier have sued North Korea for the death of their son, who was detained for the alleged theft of a poster. The suit says Warmbier was tortured during a 17-month detention in North Korea that began in January 2016, report the Washington…

Apr 27, 2018 9:13 AM CDT

Supreme Court rules foreign corporations can’t be sued for alleged abuses under alien tort law

Foreign corporations can’t be defendants in suits for alleged human rights abuses under the Alien Tort Statute, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The high court ruled in a suit that accused Arab Bank and its New York branch of clearing transactions that aided terrorism and laundering money for…

Apr 24, 2018 10:23 AM CDT

Wife of detained Chinese lawyer marches to demand answers on his fate

The wife of a detained Chinese human rights lawyer is planning a 12-day walk from Beijing to the city where she believes her husband may be imprisoned. Li Wenzu says she doesn’t know whether her husband, Wang Quanzhang, is still alive, but she hopes her 100-kilometer walk will help get…

Apr 6, 2018 2:48 PM CDT

Women of the world: Meet 3 human rights lawyers fighting for change in the U.S. and around the globe

“The advantages for women in the human rights field are that the employers tend to pay greater attention to issues of equality, it can contribute to a sense of self-worth and there is often good camaraderie,” says Brittany Benowitz, director of the Justice Defenders Program for the ABA Center for Human Rights.

Apr 1, 2018 12:15 AM CDT

ABA calls for release of detained Maldives Supreme Court judge and chief justice

ABA President Hilarie Bass is calling for the release and reinstatement of the chief justice and another judge on the supreme court in the Maldives. Bass says in a statement that Maldivian Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Judge Ali Hameed were detained without due process. According to news…

Mar 14, 2018 10:36 AM CDT

Beirut barracks bombing victims and their families are awarded $920M judgment against Iran

Updated: A federal judge has awarded a $920 million default judgment to injured soldiers and to family members of service members who died in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

Mar 2, 2018 1:08 PM CST

Companies and their lawyers brace for wide-ranging EU data-privacy law

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation requires a company to gain consent to collect data through a clear, affirmative act that is freely given, specific and informed.

Mar 1, 2018 1:40 AM CST

US is an outlier on death penalty attitudes in North America, ACLU attorney says

When it comes to imposing the death penalty, the United States has long outpaced North American neighbors Canada and Mexico, according to the director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project.

Feb 3, 2018 2:00 PM CST

Retired ABA Journal editor, a ‘classic Chicago journalist’ with deep ABA knowledge, dies at 67

James Podgers, a retired ABA Journal editor known for his deep knowledge of the American Bar Association and its inner workings, has died at the age of 67. Podgers died Thursday from islet cell neuroendocrine cancer, barely one year after his retirement. He had battled the cancer for 14 years,…

Feb 2, 2018 3:46 PM CST

Microsoft case underscores legal complications of cloud computing

How far can law enforcement authorities go when seeking electronically stored information outside the United States? The U.S. Supreme Court takes up this issue Tuesday in United States v. Microsoft.

Feb 1, 2018 2:15 AM CST

ABA supports ‘Day of the Endangered Lawyer’

The ABA is paying tribute to lawyers who support human rights throughout the world by recognizing the 2018 Day of the Endangered Lawyer, according to a statement by ABA President Hilarie Bass. Now in its eighth year, the Day of the Endangered Lawyer recognizes lawyers and judges who work to…

Jan 24, 2018 9:02 AM CST

ABA sends lawyer delegation to Poland and urges veto of bills threatening judicial independence

The ABA is urging President Andrzej Duda of Poland to veto legislation that would undermine judicial independence, according to a statement by ABA President Hilarie Bass. The ABA has sent a delegation of lawyers to the Eastern European country to monitor the situation and to support efforts to preserve an…

Dec 18, 2017 4:12 PM CST