Supreme Court - The African Mirror

Dec

2023

India’s top court upholds end of special status for Kashmir, orders polls

INDIA'S Supreme Court upheld a 2019 decision by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir and set a deadline of September 30 next year for local polls to be held. India's only Muslim-majority region, Jammu and Kashmir has been at the heart of more than 75 years of animosity with neighbouring Pakistan since the birth of the two nations in 1947 at independence from colonial rule by Britain. The unanimous order by a panel of five judges followed more than a dozen petitions challenging the revocation and a subsequent decision…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

UK PM Sunak says he discussed migration plan with Rwanda’s Kagame

NEWS

BRITISH Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he discussed plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda with President Paul Kagame as he finalises his response to a block on the policy in the Supreme Court in London. Sunak's government has said it is working on a new treaty with Rwanda, as well as new domestic legislation after the UK's top judges ruled the policy unlawful last month. Asked by reporters what he discussed with Kagame on the sidelines of the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, Sunak said he was "confident" about his government's proposals but the two leaders wanted to get the details…

Nov

2023

By NGOUDA DIONE and DIADIE BA

Jailed Senegal opposition leader suffers court setbacks

NEWS

THE presidential ambitions of jailed Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko suffered two setbacks after the Supreme Court annulled a lower court's decision ordering his reinstatement in the voter roll. Separately, a West African regional court backed the government of Senegal in a legal battle with Sonko, who had filed a case claiming the state violated his human rights. Sonko, 49, has faced a flurry of court cases over the past two years for charges including libel and rape, which he denies. He was arrested in July for insurrection, the government dissolved his party, and he has been struck off the…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

UK’s Rwanda migrant resettlement plan ruled unlawful: Reactions

NEWS

THE Supreme Court ruled that the British government's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful as it could not be considered a safe third country, a major blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop people arriving in small boats. Below are some officials' reactions: PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK "This was not the outcome we wanted, but we have spent the last few months planning for all eventualities and we remain completely committed to stopping the boats." The court "has confirmed that the principle of sending illegal migrants to a safe third country for processing is lawful. This confirms…

Nov

2023

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria opposition’s Obi slams court ruling confirming Tinubu election win

NEWS

NIGERIA'S opposition Labour Party leader Peter Obi criticised the Supreme Court's ruling affirming President Bola Tinubu's victory in February's elections and vowed to continue to fight for a "New Nigeria". The country's top court on October 26 rejected an attempt to overturn the election result by the main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar and Obi, who came second and third in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly. The Supreme Court judgment followed a pattern seen in previous presidential elections that have been challenged in court. None of the attempts to overturn results through…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Atiku says court ruling will erode trust in elections

NEWS

NIGERIA'S main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar said last week's Supreme Court decision affirming President Bola Tinubu's election win would erode trust in elections and called for changes to the electoral laws to improve transparency. The country's top court rejected a challenge by Atiku and Peter Obi, who came second and third in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly. Reacting to the judgment for the first time, Atiku told reporters the court's decision would lead to "the erosion of trust in the electoral system and our democracy". He criticised the judges for refusing…

Oct

2023

By CAMILLUS EBOH

Nigeria opposition asks Supreme Court to overturn President Tinubu’s victory

NEWS

NIGERIA'S two main opposition leaders asked the Supreme Court to quash last month's tribunal ruling upholding President Bola Tinubu's February election victory, in a last bid to reverse the results of a vote widely accepted by the international community. No legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has succeeded in Nigeria, which returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost uninterrupted military rule and has a history of electoral irregularities. Elections in the past had been characterised by ballot box snatching, accusations of allowing unregistered voters to cast ballots, and completely made-up results. Atiku Abubakar of the People's…

Oct

2023

By SAM TOBIN and MICHAEL HOLDEN

UK top court suggests months until it gives Rwanda migrant plan decision

NEWS

Report this ad Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Reuters home World Business Markets Sustainability Legal Breakingviews More My View MZ World UK top court suggests months until it gives Rwanda migrant plan decision BRITAIN'S Supreme Court said it would be a couple of months before it gives its decision on whether the government could go ahead with its plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Lawyers for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government have been arguing over three days this week that the court should overturn a June ruling that the scheme to send thousands of asylum seekers more…

Jul

2023

By RAMI AMICHAY

Israel protests flare over Netanyahu’s new Supreme Court bill

WORLD

THOUSANDS of protesters blockaded Israel's main airport and major highways as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right coalition pressed ahead with a justice bill that has opened the deepest splits seen in the country in decades. A day after parliament passed a key element in the bill, which aims to curb the power of the Supreme Court, crowds of flag-waving protesters stopped morning traffic in major intersections and on highways nationwide. Some lay down on roads, while others threw flares. Police on horseback deployed among hundreds of demonstrators in Israel's business hub, Tel Aviv. At the entrance to Jerusalem, officers used…

May

2023

By GIBRAN NAIYYAR PESHIMAM and ASIF SHAHZAD

Top Pakistan court rules Imran Khan’s arrest illegal, streets are quiet

WORLD

PAKISTAN'S Supreme Court ruled that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest was illegal, his lawyer said, two days after his detention on graft allegations triggered deadly violence, escalating his tussle with the powerful military. The protests coincide with Pakistan's worst economic crisis in decades, with record high inflation, anaemic growth and IMF funding delayed for months, prompting concerns that the country could default on its external payment obligations. The reprieve for Khan, 70, comes as a setback for the military, which has ruled the South Asian nation for almost half its history through three coups, a day after it said the violence by Khan's…