Legal News - International

In Uzbekistan, constitutional referendum gained enormous support allowing the President to stay in power until 2040. The reforms also were promising to strengthen individual rights. The referendum was held in accordance with Uzbekistan Senate Resolution No. PS-702-IV of March 14, 2023. The new constitution became effective on May 1, 2023, upon official publication.

The European Parliament, passed the first major law draft known as the A.I. Act, a potential model for policy makers around the world, which is a major issue at stake to guard the rapid developing technology and its highly volatile uses. The main focus of this legislation is to first give an uniform definition for AI which is technology neutral and create an environment which is safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory.

In April, the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative branch, passed the “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) Ecosystem Protection Act. The QTP Act is China’s first legislative vision for the environmental protection of the Tibetan plateau and its surroundings, covering larger than the area of western Europe.

A group of artists in Japan called Arts Workers Japan is urging the government to protect their rights and activities amid the growing amount of content produced by artificial intelligence (AI). The group, which is composed of actors, musicians, and other artists, emphasized the impact of AI on artists’ activities and submitted a request to the government for necessary action.

Taiwan’s parliament allows gay couples to jointly adopt children, a move hailed by activists as “another big step forward” for marriage equality. Taiwan is at the vanguard of Asia’s burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement, becoming the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality in 2019.

Indiana law requires abortion clinics to either bury or cremate fetal remains . The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to re-consider the multiple lawsuits challenging this law. The court gave no explanation for its decision in an order it issued turning down hearings in several dozen cases.

Bolivian senate approved the ‘Gold law’ aiming to strengthening the country’s foreign currency reserves. It is aimed at ensuring a stable economy in the pluri-national state.

On February 21, 2023, a group of Austrian children filed a complaint with the Austrian Constitutional Court. The applicants alleged that the Federal Climate Protection Act (Klimaschutzgesetz 2011) is, in part, unconstitutional for violating the constitutionally guaranteed rights of children and the fundamental right to equality before the law.

The Parliament calls on the European Commission to analyse the way in which loot boxes are sold as well as to take the necessary steps to bring about a common European approach to ensure protection of consumers.

The shipping industry is fully committed to eradicating its GHG emissions completely, in line with the ambitious targets agreed for the sector by its global regulator, the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) . The IMO Strategy includes a target to cut total GHG emissions from international shipping by at least 50 percent by 2050 (compared to 2008) regardless of maritime trade growth, whilst pursuing efforts towards phasing them out as soon as possible in this century.