Rights
39 stories, 359 sources cited
UK Supreme Court overturns Cheshire West and narrows who counts as deprived of liberty
On 2 June 2026 seven justices unanimously scrapped the 2014 acid test for deprivation of liberty under Article 5. The safeguards system it reshapes to
Sources cited: 9 sources
Australia's rights commission found five breaches over a detained family; Home Affairs rejected all
Report [2026] AusHRC 190, sent to the Attorney General in January 2026, found five Commonwealth acts breached the ICCPR and the Convention on the Righ
Sources cited: 9 sources
UN anti-racism committee invokes urgent action procedure over Indigenous children in Australian detention
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted Statement 1 (2026) on 29 April and published it on 5 May, finding that Indigenous
Sources cited: 10 sources
Post-Bondi protest ban was unconstitutional, NSW Court of Appeal rules unanimously
Three judges declared the public assembly restriction declaration scheme invalid on 16 April 2026, four months after it passed in a Christmas Eve sitt
Sources cited: 11 sources
Muckamore inquiry finds restraint replaced care at a learning disability hospital
The Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry reported on 18 June 2026 on care between December 1999 and June 2021. It made 106 recommendations, heard 181 witn
Sources cited: 9 sources
Federal Court orders Fortescue to pay Yindjibarndi $150.3 million for mining on their country
Orders issued on 1 July 2026 require Fortescue to pay $150,354,009 to Yindjibarndi native title holders: $150 million of it for cultural loss, against
Sources cited: 11 sources
Reddit fined £14.47m as UK and Australian regulators reject self declared ages for children
The Information Commissioner's Office fined Reddit £14.47 million on 24 February 2026 and Imgur's owner £247,590 on 5 February, both for failing to ch
Sources cited: 9 sources
A US judge struck down Trump's NPR and PBS defunding order as viewpoint retaliation
On 31 March 2026 Judge Randolph Moss permanently enjoined the operative provision of Executive Order 14290, the May 2025 direction that every federal
Sources cited: 8 sources
High Court upholds Met facial recognition policy as London face scans pass 1.7 million
A Divisional Court dismissed the challenge on 21 April 2026, holding the Metropolitan Police policy of 11 September 2024 lawful under Articles 8, 10 a
Sources cited: 8 sources
Australia is one of two non-European states in the new Ukraine aggression tribunal
On 15 May 2026 in Chisinau, 36 states and the European Union adopted the agreement governing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against
Sources cited: 9 sources
Paris court makes Yves Rocher's parent pay for union sackings at a Turkish factory
On 12 March 2026 the tribunal judiciaire de Paris found Laboratoires de Biologie Vegetale Yves Rocher breached France's duty of vigilance law, awardin
Sources cited: 11 sources
Canberra court voids forced relocation of three tenants who held their homes 27 to 42 years
The ACT Supreme Court set aside relocation decisions against three public housing tenants who had held the same homes for between 27 and 42 years, dec
Sources cited: 9 sources
US Supreme Court upholds state bans on trans girls in school sport, six to three, on 30 June 2026
The Supreme Court of the United States decided Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. on 30 June 2026, six to three on the Constitution and nine
Sources cited: 9 sources
Slovakia put a two sex rule in its constitution by 90 votes, and Brussels opened a case
On 26 September 2025 Slovakia's National Council passed a constitutional amendment by 90 votes, the exact three fifths minimum in a 150 seat chamber.
Sources cited: 9 sources
Three randomised trials found no gonorrhoea protection from the vaccine England still offers
The GoGoVax trial, published on 8 July 2026, put 4CMenB vaccine efficacy at minus 0.5 per cent, with 48.1 gonorrhoea infections per 100 person-years i
Sources cited: 8 sources
EU top court rules Bulgaria's refusal to amend gender records breaches free movement law
On 12 March 2026 the Court of Justice of the European Union held in Case C-43/24, Shipova, that a member state offering its nationals no route to amen
Sources cited: 8 sources
Australia's employer pay gap fell to 11.2 per cent, and its new targets regime carries no fine
Equal Pay Day fell on 17 August 2026, 48 days into the new financial year. Employer data published on 3 March covering 10,500 employers and 5.9 millio
Sources cited: 10 sources
England scraps standalone school gender guidance and puts the rules inside statutory safeguarding
Two rewritten instruments bind schools in England from 1 September 2026: RSHE guidance telling teachers not to present gender identity as fact, and Ke
Sources cited: 13 sources
IOC restores sex testing for the 2028 female category as the evidence stays contested
On 27 March 2026 the International Olympic Committee limited female Olympic events to athletes without the SRY gene, effective from Los Angeles 2028.
Sources cited: 8 sources
US Supreme Court stays Fifth Circuit order that would have ended abortion pills by post
On 14 May 2026 the Supreme Court stayed a Fifth Circuit ruling of 1 May that suspended the FDA's 2023 mifepristone rules nationwide. Thomas and Alito
Sources cited: 12 sources
Two statistical agencies counted same-sex couples in April and warned about the numbers
The Office for National Statistics counted about 216,000 civil partner couples in the UK in 2025, against about 48,000 in 2015. Sixteen days earlier t
Sources cited: 8 sources
Four countries on the EU's new safe list still jail people over same-sex conduct
On 10 February 2026 the European Parliament voted 408 to 184 to create an EU wide safe country of origin list. Four of the seven countries named, Bang
Sources cited: 10 sources
UK ad regulator bans an AI girlfriend advert for selling female compliance
The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a single complaint on 12 August 2026 against EverAI Ltd over a Candy AI advert seen on 13 May, finding brea
Sources cited: 9 sources
High Court upholds UK student visa ban on Afghan, Cameroonian, Burmese and Sudanese nationals
Mrs Justice Steyn dismissed both challenges to the Student Visa Brake on 12 August 2026. The rule, in force since 26 March 2026, is expected to block
Sources cited: 8 sources
ABS puts Australia's 2025 net overseas migration at 301,000, above the budget's 225,000 path
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded net overseas migration of 301,000 for calendar 2025 on 18 June 2026, with the population at 27,801,023 an
Sources cited: 9 sources
Ombudsman finds Australia's detention handover to a US prison operator degraded care and safety
The Commonwealth Ombudsman's 52 page report of 10 March 2026 found the switch from Serco to Secure Journeys was handled poorly, with no formal policie
Sources cited: 8 sources
UK migration advisers cut the shortage visa list to 28 jobs, all for 18 months only
The Migration Advisory Committee's Stage 2 report of 23 July 2026 recommends 28 occupations for the Temporary Shortage List, out of 82 it considered,
Sources cited: 9 sources
US Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship on 30 June, and a new order followed on 6 August
In Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365, decided 30 June 2026, the Supreme Court struck down Executive Order 14160 of 20 January 2025. Five weeks later, on 6
Sources cited: 11 sources
Salerno court annuls Geo Barents detention and rejects Libyan orders as rescue coordination
Judgment 1818/2026, from a hearing on 20 March 2026, quashes a 60 day detention imposed on 26 August 2024 under Italy's decree law 1 of 2023, holding
Sources cited: 9 sources
UK to France returns treaty extended to October and widened to cover people smuggled back by lorry
An exchange of letters signed in London on 2 June 2026 and Paris on 8 June 2026 extended the UK to France readmission agreement to 1 October 2026 and
Sources cited: 9 sources
Audit finds US refugee agency missed 80 of 198 required visits to child migrant shelters
A US inspector general audit issued on 5 June 2026 found the Office of Refugee Resettlement completed 176 of 256 required monitoring visits to 58 unli
Sources cited: 8 sources
Louisiana's highest court frees a man after 27 years on death row over bite mark evidence
On 29 June 2026 the Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed the vacating of Jimmie Duncan's 1998 murder conviction, docket 2025-KP-01014. He spent 27 year
Sources cited: 9 sources
NSW police watchdog found conflict of interest forms in 32 per cent of officer domestic violence cases
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission's 22 April 2026 review of 67 complaint investigations involving 56 officers found the mandatory conflict of int
Sources cited: 8 sources
Crown Court backlog holds at 80,061 as cases open a year or more hit 22,124
Ministry of Justice figures published on 25 June 2026 show 80,061 open Crown Court cases in England and Wales at the end of March, up 5 per cent on th
Sources cited: 10 sources
Queensland forensic lab audits more than 900 DNA statements after a courtroom error
Forensic Science Queensland is checking over 900 statements given to police since 2023. About a third have been reviewed and 10 to 15 per cent carried
Sources cited: 10 sources
Victorian inquiry finds 12 of 26 children were remanded before turning 14, most never sentenced
A report tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 30 July 2026 reviewed the files of 26 children under youth justice supervision for conduct before age 1
Sources cited: 8 sources
Federal Court approves $548.5m robodebt settlement and halves the litigation funder's fee
Justice Jonathan Beach approved the settlement on 23 June 2026, set aside the 2021 approval orders, and cut Omni Bridgeway's commission from the propo
Sources cited: 7 sources
India's Supreme Court grew from 34 judges to 38 by ordinance, and Parliament ratified it late
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2026 received assent on 12 August, 88 days after an ordinance made the same change and 71 days aft
Sources cited: 12 sources
EU top court finds Hungary's 2021 anti-LGBTI law breaches the Union's founding values
In Case C-769/22 on 21 April 2026, all 27 judges of the Court of Justice held that Hungary's “child protection” Act LXXIX of 2021 stigmatises LGBTI pe
Sources cited: 7 sources