Sri Lanka government enacts social media crackdown law, tables new anti-terrorism law
By Sanjaya Jayasekera. Sri Lanka Speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena last Thursday (01) signed into law the Online Safety Act (No 09 of 2024) (OSA), a piece of legislation long prepared by the ruling class to crack down upon freedom of dissent in the country. The law was approved by the Parliament
Supreme Court lines up with Trump at hearing on Colorado ballot exclusion ruling
By Patrick Martin. The US Supreme Court heard more than two hours of oral argument Thursday over whether the state of Colorado could exclude fascist ex-president Donald Trump from the presidential ballot because of his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress. The mob assault was aimed at shutting down
![Kate Cox [Photo: Kate Cox]](https://therepublic.lk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/e876db53aff2471df625c562c8533a389c20d4e2.jpg)
The Texas Supreme Court’s anti-abortion ruling and the war on democratic rights
By Tom Carter. The Texas Supreme Court’s abrupt intervention to block a medically necessary abortion is not only a monstrous injustice. It is a concentrated expression of the profound rot of the whole social order in America, with fundamental human rights under siege and collapsing across the board. Kate Cox is a
Australian High Court partly overturns indefinite detentions
By Mike Head In an as-yet unexplained partial about-face, Australia’s supreme court this week declared unconstitutional the indefinite detention, without trial, of some stateless refugees and other non-citizens. Without providing any reasons, Chief Justice Stephen Gaegler announced on Wednesday that “at least a majority” of the High Court bench had agreed that
Australian High Court overturns a citizenship-stripping law but upholds another
By Mike Head On the same day this week, Australia’s highest court struck down as unconstitutional a law allowing the federal government to strip citizenship from a person purely by executive decree, but in another case upheld a similar power. The twin decisions on November 1, relating to legislation passed with bipartisan
Sri Lanka Appeal Court affirms its non-interference with the government’s economic and restructuring policies, particularly during financial crisis
Sathosa Employees' compulsory retirement case By Staff Writer The Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka dismissed and refused to issue notice in a case brought by several employees of the "Sathosa" against government compulsory retirement scheme (CRS). The order (in C. A. Writ No. 548/2023) was made on October 03 by
Supreme Court concludes hearing the Petitioners against the Online Safety Bill
Staff Writer The Speaker of Parliament confirmed on Wednesday (18) that 45 petitions had been filed in the Supreme Court (SC) of Sri Lanka challenging the constitutionality of the proposed draconian piece of law titled, Online Safety Bill (OSB). On the same day at 12.30 in the afternoon, the Supreme Court took
Indian Supreme Court bows down to the far-right, rejects same-sex marriage rights
By Staff Writer The Supreme Court in India today (17) refused to grant legal recognition for queer marriages, in a landmark judgement, denying equal rights to tens of millions of people. A five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, ruled that the court could not “be re-drafting
Mauritius Supreme Court upholds LGBTQ rights, dignity, and sodomy laws unconstitutional
By Staff Writer In two landmark judgments, delivered on Wednesday (12), the Supreme Court of Mauritius has struck down the provision in the 1838 Criminal Code that criminalized consensual anal sex between men, rejecting the law as a discriminatory colonial relic. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), one case was brought by
Popular cartoonist Awantha Artigala and journalist activist Shantha Wijesooriya petition against the Online Safety Bill
By Staff Writer Renowned Cartoonist Awantha Artigala and senior journalist Shantha Wijesooriya today (12) filed a case (SD No. 91/2023) in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka challenging the "Online Safety Bill", one of the draconian law proposals of the President Ranil Wickremasinghe's government. Since October 03, when the Bill was placed