Mexico: President Signs Law Granting Amnesty to Criminals Incarcerated for...
(Apr. 24, 2020) On April 22, 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed into law a bill passed by Mexico’s Senate two days earlier granting amnesty to persons incarcerated for the...
View ArticleNew Zealand: Government Launches Charter on Use of Algorithms by Public Agencies
(July 31, 2020) On July 28, 2020, the New Zealand government launched the Algorithm Charter for Aotearoa New Zealand, with the minister for statistics stating that it was the first country in the world...
View ArticleAustralia: Bill Recognizing Indigenous Adoption Practices Passed in Queensland
(Sept. 15, 2020) On September 8, 2020, the Queensland Parliament passed the Meriba Omasker Kaziw Kazipa (Torres Strait Islander Traditional Child Rearing Practice) Act 2020, which legally recognizes...
View ArticleSweden: Appellate Court Declares Decision on Shared Reindeer Herding Rights...
(Jan. 26, 2021) On December 16, 2020, the Appellate Court for Upper Norrland remanded the Vapsten reindeer case to the court of first instance, ordering it to rehear the case to determine which Sami...
View ArticleNew Zealand: Amendments Enacted to Remove Barriers to the Establishment of...
(Mar. 5, 2021) On March 1, 2021, the Local Electoral (Maori Wards and Maori Constituencies) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 Act) received royal assent, having been passed by the New Zealand Parliament on...
View ArticleMexico: First Cases Approved under Law Granting Amnesty to Criminals...
(May 3, 2021) On April 22, 2021, the Mexican government announced that it had approved the release from prison of five convicted individuals as provided by the Amnesty Law adopted one year earlier. The...
View ArticleCanada: Supreme Court Rules American Indian Tribe Member Has Constitutional...
(May 5, 2021) On April 23, 2021, the Supreme Court of Canada issued an opinion holding that an American citizen who is a member of an American Indian tribe with ancestral connections to an aboriginal...
View ArticleNew Zealand: Landmark Judgment Recognizes Customary Rights in Coastal Marine...
(May 21, 2021) On May 7, 2021, the High Court of New Zealand, the third highest court in New Zealand’s court hierarchy, issued a decision in Re Edwards (Whakatohea) (No 2) [2021] NZHC 1025 in which it...
View ArticleSweden: Government Tasks Sami Parliament with Investigating Sameby Legal...
(June 1, 2021) On May 20, 2021, the Swedish Parliament announced that it was reviewing legislation pertaining to the Sami (a nomadic group indigenous to northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia)...
View ArticleNorway: Supreme Court Defines Extent of Swedish Sami Reindeer Herder Rights
On June 30, 2021, the Norwegian Supreme Court issued a precedent on cross-border reindeer herding rights, recognizing that the right of Swedish reindeer herders to herd reindeer in Norway is based on...
View ArticleUkraine: New Law Determines Legal Status of Indigenous People
On July 1, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine adopted the Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine.The text of the draft Law on Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine, initiated by President Volodymyr...
View ArticleNorway: Supreme Court Rules Windmill Park in Sami Area Violates Indigenous...
On October 11, 2021, the Norwegian Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held that the concession for a wind turbine park in the Fosen-halvøya (Fosen peninsula) area of Norway violated the indigenous...
View ArticleFinland: Sami Truth and Reconciliation Commission Established
On October 28, 2021, the Finnish government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the historical treatment of the indigenous Sami population and promote the attainment of the...
View ArticleSweden: Swedish Parliament Adopts Sami Parliament Consultation Order
On January 26, 2022, the Swedish parliament voted to adopt a new law (Lag om konsultation i frågor som rör det samiska folket) (Sami consultation law), as well as an amendment to that law to enter into...
View ArticleFinland: Supreme Court Rules on Sámi Indigenous Rights to Fish
On April 13, 2022, the Finnish Supreme Court ruled in two cases that members of the Sámi indigenous people were not legally responsible for having violated joint Finnish-Norwegian rules on fishing,...
View ArticleSweden: Parliament Directs Government to Investigate Return of Sámi Cultural...
On May 4, 2022, the Swedish parliament voted to direct the Swedish government to propose rules and a framework for returning cultural heritage items, including cultural objects and human remains, to...
View ArticleCanada: First Indigenous Justice Appointed to Supreme Court
On August 19, 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intent to nominate Ontario Superior Court Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin to the Supreme Court of Canada. The nomination will be...
View ArticleUnited States: Court of Appeals Holds 1891 Act Reserves Metlakatlan Indian...
On September 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the Metlakatlan Indian Community had the right to fish in off-reservation waters. The court based its decision on its...
View ArticleAustralia: Legislation Setting Emissions Reduction Targets Enacted
On September 14, 2022, the Climate Change Act 2022 (Cth) came into effect in Australia. The act, which sets out Australia’s emissions reduction ambitions, was passed in conjunction with the Climate...
View ArticleNew Zealand: Legislation to Implement Free Trade Agreement with United...
On November 15, 2022, the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Legislation Act 2022 received royal assent in New Zealand. The act amends New Zealand law as part of implementing the free trade agreement...
View ArticleAustralia: Land Court Finds against Proposed Coal Mine due to Impact on...
On November 25, 2022, the Land Court of Queensland issued a decision in a case in which a First Nations-led group of young people from across the state, who had formed an entity called Youth Verdict,...
View ArticleSweden: Government Initiates Review of Repatriation of Sámi Skulls
On December 19, 2022, the Swedish government announced that it is initiating a review of the repatriation of Indigenous Sámi skulls currently in public holdings.In addition, the government announced...
View ArticleUkraine: New Law Determines Rights and Obligations of National Minority...
On December 13, 2022, the Ukrainian legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, adopted Law No. 2827-IX on National Minorities (Communities) of Ukraine.The adoption of this law had been one of the requirements...
View ArticleAustralia: South Australia Passes 'First Nations Voice' to Parliament...
On March 26, 2023, the South Australian Parliament passed the First Nations Voice Bill 2023 (SA), becoming the first Australian state to allow an Indigenous “Voice” to Parliament. The government of...
View ArticleNorway: Parliament Includes Indigenous People Designation in Constitution
On May 15, 2023, the Norwegian parliament voted to include in Norway’s constitution a recognition of the Sami people as indigenous to Norway. The changes to the constitution took effect the same...
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