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A new report from the Open Society Justice Initiative looks at the impact that defense lawyers and paralegals can have when they can reach individuals soon after an arrest.

The Human Rights Committee affirmed that the prohibition on the return of asylum-seekers to torture and the prospect of the death penalty is not subject to balancing based on alleged threats to national security.

European governments are discussing the future of the European Court of Human Rights. For Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries, the importance of the court has never been greater.

For much of its history, the European Court of Human Rights has refused to recognize a general right of access to state-held information, which is not explicitly provided for in the court's treaty. But a recent judgement shows signs of change.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has become the latest international human rights body to criticize Italy over its treatment of both ethnic minorities and migrants.

A ruling from the European Court of Human Rights supports freedom of expression over the right to private life, but argues that states must nevertheless do their utmost to combat negative racial-stereotyping.

Juveniles held in pretrial detention are exceptionally vulnerable to abuse; demanding systems that can make rational decisions about incarceration that protect both the safety of the community and the rights of the child.

In a case related to forgery and EU subsidies, the European Court reaffirmed the importance of the right of accused persons to present and challenge evidence and underscored that these rights must be respected at all stages of proceedings.

For the first time, the Inter-American Court will take on a case that raises the issue of a state's obligation to give proper consideration to requests for asylum and not to return a person to a country where they would be at risk of ill-treatment.

The International Criminal Court issued its first judgment today—a milestone in the path towards accountability.

I previously expressed dismay and pessimism about the "progress" on LGBT rights at the United Nations. Unfortunately my fears were well-founded and the Human Rights Council debate on March 7 on the topic was a circus.

Footage being collected in Syria by smart phones and video cameras has the potential to provide documentation which could serve as critical evidence in future criminal trials.

Two fresh studies have again criticized the Czech Republic's failure to stop channeling Romani children into dead-end "practical" schools—which leaves them under-educated and unqualified for a job—at a rate which dwarfs their non-Romani classmates.

Britain’s debate over the use of classified intelligence material in court highlights the need to set an appropriate and transparent balance between what may legitimately be held in secret, and the public’s right to know.

Esther Kiobel and 11 other Nigerian citizens say Shell shares responsibility for abuses they suffered in Nigeria's Ogoni region in the 1990s. The Supreme Court is now deciding whether a federal court in the U.S. can hear their human rights claims...

By requiring states to guarantee human rights beyond their state´s territorial boundaries, Europe´s human rights court has upheld the primacy of fundamental rights and the rule of law.

The evolution of the case load of the East African Court of Justice also reminds us that those who seek to promote human rights through the legal process must sometimes look beyond traditional forums in order to seek justice.

A mobile court trained to handle rape cases in Eastern Congo is raising expectations among local people. But international donors must ensure that this vital project doesn't expire for lack of support next year.

Cases involving pretrial rights abuses made up more than two-thirds of judgments issued by the European Court of Human Rights over the past three months, with most of the cases originating in Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

The European Court of Human Rights will rule on Thursday on the case of Somali and Eritrean migrants who were sent back to Libya in 2009 after being intercepted in the Mediterranean by Italian Customs and Coastguard vessels.