Institute for Justice

New U.S. sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court are being described as a threat to European sovereignty. The measures could complicate cooperation between European states and the Hague-based court, raising concerns in Europe about the reach of American sanctions policy and the future of international justice institutions.

Germany's foreign minister visited the International Criminal Court in The Hague, pledging Berlin's full support for the institution despite US sanctions imposed under the Trump administration. The visit signals Germany's continued commitment to international justice, though it comes after Berlin also announced its own sanctions targeting ICC officials, creating a mixed picture of Europe's stance toward the court.

The UN human rights office is highlighting efforts to rebuild the justice system in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, a province battered by years of armed conflict. Courts, police and legal services were disrupted as violence displaced hundreds of thousands, leaving residents with little access to legal recourse. Restoring judicial function is seen as key to resolving land disputes and human rights grievances as displaced families return home.

The Trump administration has asked the US Supreme Court to let it deny hormone therapy to transgender inmates in federal custody. The request escalates a legal fight over medical care for transgender prisoners, pitting claims of institutional discretion and public cost against court rulings that withholding such treatment violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The justices' response will shape how far correctional authorities must go in providing gender-affirming care behind bars.

Residents of Pottstown, Pennsylvania have filed a second lawsuit against the borough, accusing local officials of trying to circumvent a court ruling by adopting a new rental inspection law. The case, backed by the Institute for Justice, challenges the borough's move as an attempt to continue warrantless inspections of rental properties that courts had already rejected. The dispute has drawn attention to ongoing tensions between the borough government and landlords over property rights.

The US Supreme Court's summer recess has been far from quiet, with the justices continuing to issue emergency orders and significant rulings well into the traditional off-season. Legal observers note the court's increasingly active 'shadow docket' has eroded the long-standing pattern of a slow summer, keeping the institution in the headlines between terms.

The Institute for Justice, a US public interest law firm, has launched a new Education Entrepreneurship Project aimed at supporting people starting educational businesses as schools reopen and workers return for the fall. The initiative reportedly combines the group's litigation and advocacy work with efforts to help education entrepreneurs overcome regulatory barriers, tapping into renewed attention on schooling and work at the start of the academic year.