The following are the top 10 most viewed articles from the general content of the Global Legal Monitor in the order of their popularity:
- China: Maternity Leave Extended from 90 Days to 98 Days
- France: Law on Immigration, Integration and Nationality
- U.N. Human Rights Council: First Resolution on Internet Free Speech
- South Korea: Permanent Dual Nationality Allowed after 60 Years
- China: Revision of Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment
- Taiwan: Proposed Changes to Data Protection Act
- China: Amendment of Criminal Procedure Law
- Turkey: New Minimum Wage
- Indonesia: Labor Law to Be Revised
- Hong Kong: Minimum Wage Law Takes Effect
In addition, the Global Legal Monitor published 35 articles on a wide range of legal issues in October. Of these articles, I found the following three particularly interesting:
- An article discussing an Israel District Court decision in which the Court ruled that Google search keywords are in the public domain. The plaintiff, a plastic surgeon who bought an advertisement on Google Adwords, sought to have the Court declare that two other companies, which provide similar services and have placed advertisements that pop up when his name is used as a search keyword, violated his right to privacy. The Court disagreed.
- An article discussing a recent decision of the High Court of Botswana, which held that customary laws excluding women from inheriting real property violate the country’s constitution. The facts of this case involved three elderly women who lived in their parents’ house. Their nephew, whose father, the women’s older step-brother, had been promised the property by the women’s older brother but who had died, sought to have them evicted on the basis of the Tswana customary rites, which accord the family home to a male member of the family. Although the country’s customary court system at the lower level and at its appeals level sided with the nephew, the High Court of Botswana, in what is being lauded as a landmark case, ultimately abrogated the customary practice under the “fundamental rights and freedoms of an individual” clause of Botswana’s Constitution stating that fundamental rights apply regardless of gender.
- An article describing the defeat of a measure to impose a ban on the wearing of face covering veils, including burqas, in the Swiss Parliament. Supporters argued that the measure was intended to ensure public safety and champion gender equality. Those opposed noted that the measure would only serve to alienate Muslim tourists without any meaningful upside, as burqas are not commonly used in the country. Ultimately the measure was defeated in an up or down vote.
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