The European Court of Justice has ruled that psychological tests cannot be used to assess asylum applications from those facing persecution in their home countries due to their sexuality as such tests amount to “a disproportionate interference in the private life of the asylum seeker.” Hungarian immigration officials had administered such tests to an unidentified […]

The European Court of Justice has held that the question of whether ‘private divorces’ under the Sharia law should be recognised has to be decided by each member state of the EU. In this case, the husband had divorced his wife under sharia in Syria before moving to Germany. The question of whether this divorce […]

The European Court of Human Rights has held that the rejection of a lesbian woman’s application for paternity was not violative of human rights to private and family life, and non-discrimination guaranteed under the ECHR, as the institution of paternity leave was designed to enable the biological father of a child to play a greater […]

A legal advisor to the European Court of Justice has stated that EU countries are bound to provide the same residency rights to same-sex couples that are accorded to heterosexual married couples, irrespective of whether they recognise same-sex marriage. Extending equal spousal benefits, according to the advisor, would enable same-sex couples to move and reside […]

The Greek Parliament has legislated to severely limit the power of sharia courts, which operate in some parts of the country, and govern a 100,000-strong Muslim minority. This change followed a challenge before the European Court of Human Rights by a Muslim woman who had been denied a fair share of inheritance under Islamic law. […]

Iceland has enacted a new law which makes it illegal for employers to pay men more than women for the same work. The law applies to agencies that employ more than 25 persons, and obligates them to obtain a compliance certification with their equal pay policies. Failure to obtain such a certification leaves the workplace […]

The European Court of Justice has held that pregnant and breastfeeding employees can be dismissed as part of a collective redundancy of employees, i.e., at the time of a mass layoff of employees, if their dismissal is not expressly prohibited under the law of their country. In this case, a worker who was dismissed as […]

Morocco has adopted Law no. 103-13 on combating violence against women. The new law criminalizes some forms of domestic violence, establishes prevention measures such as restraint orders, and provides new protections for survivors. It increases penalties for some forms of violence when committed within the family and establishes new crimes including forced marriage, squandering property to […]

The lower house of Somaliland’s parliament has cleared a bill to criminalise rape, and other forms of sexual assault, including gang rape. The bill also seeks to criminalise trafficking, child marriage, and knowingly putting another person at risk of contracting an HIV infection. The offence of rape carries a maximum punishment of imprisonment for twenty-two […]

The House of Deputies of the Chilean Congress have approved a bill that will allow transgender persons to legally change their names and gender markers on official documents. Change in gender identity will not require prior surgery or a court order. The bill does not seek to extend any of these rights to minors. It […]