International Maritime Organization: 2023 Maritime Decarbonization
After implementing a sulphur fuel regulation in 2020, the IMO (International Maritime Organization) introduces ,“IMO 2023” to further reduce ocean shipping’s carbon emissions.
New Digital Residency Law Passed in Palau
Palau is an island nation in the western Pacific Ocean, consisting of more than 500 islands. The capital and the seat of the government is Melekeok on the island of Babeldaob.
UN Rapporteur to Investigate Human Rights Abuses in Russia
On 7 October, the UN Human Rights Council passed a historic resolution to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. The move marks the first time the UN body will examine the rights record of one of the so-called P5 members that hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council.
German Employment Law in 2023
On January 1, 2023, Germany will begin to implement digitization processes in the statutory health insurance system. As a result, the paper certificate of incapacity for work, previously known as the “yellow certificate”, which doctors usually issue to an employee to certify their sickness, will no longer be valid. From now on, employers will be informed electronically by the relevant statutory health insurance fund about the incapacity to work of employees who are insured under the statutory health insurance.
UK’s Supermarket ‘Iceland’ Food Ltd Patents Cancelled
EU Iceland rulings set ground-breaking precedent on country names as trademarks. The Grand Board of Appeal of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has upheld a decision to cancel UK supermarket Iceland Food Ltd.’s EU-wide trademark for the word ‘Iceland’.
UK Bans Celebs From Gambling Ads
Britain bans celebrities including footballers, TV stars and social media influencers, from featuring in gambling adverts to protect young and vulnerable people.
Mali’s Constitutional Referendum
Nigeria's structure and composition are a legacy of British colonial rule. The country has gone through many divergent society with rampant political corruption and as a result has had many attempts to form an effective constitution. These efforts include civilian and military rule, centrifugal and centralized federalism, presidential and parliamentary systems, and other political institutions.
Canada’s Online News Act
The Government of Canada introduced Bill C-18,the Online News Act, which will ensure major digital platforms fairly compensate news publishers for their content and enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace, including the sustainability of independent local news businesses.
Refugees Status to Afghan Women
All women and girls from Afghanistan are eligible for refugee status, the European Union’s agency for asylum has declared. But it's up to each country to decide whether it agrees.
Italy’s - Decreto Flussi 2023
The Decreto flussi is an Italian government law that sets how many non-European citizens can enter Italy for work. Specifically, the Decreto Flussi, establishes the number of non-European citizens who can enter Italy for seasonal work, non-seasonal employed work or self-employed work. In addition to the number of non-EU citizens who can enter Italy for work, the Decreto Flussi, also sets the number of people who can convert their residence permit (for example a residence permit for study) into a residence permit for subordinate work or autonomous.
Thailand 2024: Constitutional Court Rules against the Proposal to Reform Lèse-Majesté Law
The Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled that the opposition Move Forward Party’s efforts to change section 112 of the criminal code, which punishes a person who insults or defames the king or the royal family, violated Thailand’s Constitution. It also ordered Move Forward to stop all attempts at instituting any change.
Elon Musk X v X Social media
The “X Corp”. is being challenged in a legal law suit in a trademark infringement case. The plaintiff, is an ad agency,“X Social Media”, focused on mass-tort litigation. The lawsuit was that the "X Social Media" set up since 2016 and owns a federal trademark has invested millions and more in advertising to reach potential clients.
China: Copyright protection for AI-generated works
In November 2023, the Beijing Internet Court in China in a judgement of a landmark case of AI generated image a copyright infringement case, answers the important questions of (1) whether AI-generated works are protectable by copyright, and (2) if yes, who owns the copyright.
Australia: Family Law reforms 2024
Best interests of the child applies throughout the case considering factors such as cultural background, family or domestic violence concerns taking importance to safetiness of the child.
Social Media ‘X’ under aggressive censorship in Brazil
Elon Musk threatens to disobey the Brazilian Supreme court which intends to ban certain accounts on the social Media platform ‘X’ challenging it to be an aggressive censorship. The Attorney General Jorge Messias mentioned that it is urgent to regulate social media network that violates the rule of law and that which fails to comply court orders.
Scotland
Public Order Act 1986 was passed in Great Britain to stream line the criminal law against race, colour, nationality and such crimes. Punishment against this is seven years. The Hate crime and public order (Scotland) Act 2021 creates new areas of crimes such as against disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or intersex, variations in sex characteristics etc.
Titanic law leverages Baltimore accident ‘24
The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 is a United States federal law that allows shipowners to limit their liability to the value of the vessel after an accident, as well as any pending freight. It was enacted to encourage investment in the maritime industry by providing a degree of financial protection for shipowners during the olden days.
Thailand approves Marriage equality bill, 2024
Thailand's parliament approves a marriage equality bill on Wednesday, a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to becoming its third territory to legalise same-sex unions. It becomes the first in South east Asia to guarantee marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples.
Russia terms ‘LGBT’ movement as ‘extremists’
The Russian Supreme court has ruled “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization. The supreme court also declared the rainbow flag a forbidden. The Supreme Court ruling also allows the arbitrary prosecution of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people along with anyone who defends their rights or expresses solidarity with them.
EPA pulls tighter stand on the Auto Emission Rules 2024
Soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution and is linked to a range of serious and potentially deadly illnesses, including asthma and heart attacks. The United States EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) finalized new, tighter standards on PM2.5 air pollution, also known as soot.
