#ARMENIA: Parliament Forces Three Judges Off Supreme Court

[world politics news]

Amid strong opposition objections, the Armenian parliament approved constitutional changes calling for the immediate dismissal of three of the nine members of the country’s Constitutional Court.The amendments drafted by the ruling My Step bloc would also require the court to elect a new chairman.

The judges have been under strong government pressure to step down, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accusing them of maintaining close ties to the country’s former government and impeding judicial reforms.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#TURKEY: Opposition Parties Try To Use Courts To Fix Bill Barring Release Of Dissidents From Prison

[world politics news]

Turkey’s opposition parties plan to appeal to the country’s highest court against a bill that, if passed, would exclude dissidents from early release to protect them from the coronavirus.

But with Constitutional Court now stacked with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s appointees, the opposition will have its work cut out.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#VENEZUELA: Oppo. Denounces "Coup" As Maduro-Friendly Court Disbands National Assembly, Seizes Control

[world politics news]

Venezuela's opposition is calling the Supreme Court's move Thursday to dissolve the opposition-controlled Congress and assume full control over all branches of government a "coup." The court is the virtual puppet of Socialist Pres. Maduro. There was swift and widespread international condemnation of the annulment of the National Assembly. The head of the Organization of International States, Luis Almagro, said the Venezuelan court had dealt the final blows to democracy.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#RUSSIA: Parliament Backs Bill That Lessens Penalties For Domestic Abuse

[world politics news]

Russia's parliament has voted to back a bill that would ease some penalties for domestic violence. Women's rights campaigners fear it will encourage abuse. The bill reduces the crime of battery of a relative to a civil offense instead of a criminal offense when the victim "has suffered no serious harm." It stems from a Supreme Court ruling to decriminalize battery that doesn't inflict bodily harm.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#RUSSIA: High Court Could Rule Soon On Constitutionality Of Controversial Anti-Missionary Law

[world politics news]

Russia's Supreme Court could rule in the coming weeks on the legality of a controversial law banning evangelism by Western missionaries. Don Ossewaarde, a Baptist American Missionary charged and fined for holding a Bible study, appealed his $600 fine, imposed after a police raid. The law, which makes certain “religious activities” like distributing Bibles, evangelizing and holding house churches, potentially illegal, has been widely condemned as a violation of Russia's Constitution.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#EGYPT: In Rare Rebuke, Court Blocks Pres. Al-Sisi's Deal To Give Islands To Saudi Arabia

[world politics news]

An Egyptian court has reversed a decision to hand over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. Tuesday's verdict by the highest administrative court in Cairo declared void a maritime border accord with Saudi Arabia, which would have seen Egypt surrender control of the Tiran and Sanafir islands at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. While the verdict is not final, it could deal a blow to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi's government, which has eagerly argued that the agreement would bring economic benefits for Egypt.

#IRAN: Parliament Approves Lawsuits Against USA For Support Of Saddam In Iran-Iraq War

[world politics news]

In retaliation for the US Supreme Court upholding legislation that allows American courts to confiscate Iranian assets in the United States, the Iranian parliament passed a bill that forces the administration to seek compensation from the United States for US actions taken against Iran in the past 63 years, including its support of Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War and its support of the 1953 Iranian coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstalled King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

#BRAZIL: Supreme Court Temporarily Suspends Impeachment Committee Investigating Pres. Rousseff

[world politics news]

Brazil’s Supreme Court has suspended, at least through Dec. 16, a special Committee formed to recommend to Congress whether to proceed with the impeachment of Pres. Dilma Rousseff. The court was acting on an appeal from Brazil's Communist Party, an ally of Rousseff's leftist Worker's Party, alleging irregularities in the composition of the all-party committee.

#CANADA: Commons, Senate Will "Expedite" Right-To-Die Legislation To Beat Court Deadline

[world politics news]

The House of Commons and Senate will set up a joint committee to "expedite" a right-to-die bill in time to meet a Supreme Court ruling that a bill be passed by Feb. 6, 2016. It overturned a ban on the right to die last February and give provinces and the Federal legislature a year to pass legislation to allow it.

#AFGHANISTAN: Parliament Rejects First Woman Nominated As Supreme Court Justice

[world politics news]

The first female to be nominated for Afghanistan's Supreme Court by Pres. Ashraf Ghani, Anisa Rasouli, has been rejected by the Parliament, the latest hurdle for the government. Ghani has struggled to move his agenda forward after nine months in office, and has been unable to complete the cabinet.

#MEXICO: Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriages; Annuls State Constitutions' "1 Man, 1 Woman" Language

[world politics news]

In a June 12 ruling, the Mexican Supreme Court said it was discriminatory for Mexico's 33 states to limit marriage to "one man and one woman" or to define its sole purpose as "procreation," as some state constitutions read. The head of the Mexican Family Council accused the court of acting "like a group of activists."

#CANADA: Supreme Court Strikes Down Mandatory Minimum Gun Crime Sentences

[world politics news]

Calling the law "cruel and unusual," the Canadian Supreme Court has struck down Prime Minister Stephen Harper's legislation for mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes. By a 6-3 margin, the high court dealt Harper's tough-on-crime agenda a blow by upholding a 2013 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling.