Legal News - International

On 25 October 2022, the High Court of Lesotho in the case of MK v Director of Public Prosecutions and Others issued a judgment on a constitutional challenge to certain sections of the Sexual Offences Act that impose mandatory HIV testing on persons accused of sexual offences, and subsequently impose a death sentence on persons convicted of sexual offences solely based on their HIV-positive status.

The purpose of the law is to align Cyprus Law with EU Directives on work-life balance for parents and carers. The Directive, and hence the Law, lays down the minimum requirements designed and intended for achieving equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work.

The Mother Earth Law is a piece of legislation that epitomizes Bolivia's dedication to sustainable development, respecting the balance between human life and the natural environment, and prioritizing the rights and knowledge of the country's majority indigenous population.

On 13th December 2022, New Zealand, passed a law banning smoking for the lifetime of its future generations. New Zealanders born on and after 1st January 2009 cannot buy cigarettes as a part of a package of anti-smoking laws.

Around 47% of Luxembourg’s population are non-nationals, in addition to more than 200,000 cross-border workers who commute in the country. The share of foreigners is higher in some communes than in others, with Luxembourg City standing out with a non-national population of more than 70%.

Retired workers can use part of the family pension of a deceased spouse or common-law partner in the amount of 27% of the corresponding part of the family pension for one member if : Part of the family pension can be used by another family member if other family members use it due to a complete loss of working capacity or as a child with the status of a disabled person.

The proposed new Constitution is a key element of the vast reform project it initiated to ensure a return to civilian rule, following an election that will be held in February 2024. A revised draft of the document was handed to the country’s transitional president, Colonel Assimi Goita. In the new draft of the constitution, the head of state, will "determine the policies of the nation, and not the government.

South Koreans do not just one age, but three – an “International Age,” a “Korean Age” and a “Calendar Age”. But to end confusion, the country’s parliament has decreed that from June 2023 all official documents must use the standard “international age”. According to the new law, they get a year or two younger than their traditional ‘age’ counting system. This has been a long-running debate over this issue since some long time to bring the country inline with the rest of the world to avoid such legal discrepancies because of this multiple system.

For the first time in more than 80 hears, a change in the United States law allows new drugs to be tested using modern, animal free, human based methods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) no longer requires new drugs to be tested on animals before being approved. The agency now has the option to approve drugs that are tested in only non-animal studies, including those that use lab-grown tissues or computer models, before being tested in clinical trials with humans. 

The Council of Europe drafted a convention which constitutes, for the first time, a binding international instrument in the criminal law field on counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health (MEDICRIME Convention).