lawsuits
G/wi Take Case to International Court
The G/wi and the other San peoples of the Kalahari who are being persecuted by the government of Botswana have decided to take their case to the International Court of Justice. Roy Sesana, leader of First People of the Kalahari, an advocacy organization for southern African indigenous groups, announced last week that they would abandon […]
Legal Negotiations in Namibia over Invasion of Ju/’hoansi Territory
The Namibian farmers who invaded Ju/’hoansi lands with their cattle earlier this year are appealing to the High Court of Namibia to reverse the government’s decision to auction off their animals. The New Era, an official Namibian publication, reported last week that government lawyers recently wrote to Patrick Kauta, the attorney for the farmers, to […]
Hutterites to Appeal Photo License Decision
Although the Supreme Court of Canada, in July, denied that a couple Hutterite colonies have the right to provincial drivers’ licenses without photos on them, the Hutterites have appealed for a rehearing. Led by the Wilson Colony near Lethbridge, Alberta, the two colonies decided to contest a 2003 ruling by the province that all drivers’ […]
Hutterites Lose Supreme Court Case
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Hutterites living in the Wilson Colony, located near Lethbridge, Alberta, must have their photos taken if they want provincial driver’s licenses. By a vote of four to three, the justices rejected the colony’s claim that their right to freedom of religion was violated by the Alberta […]
Amish Farmers Refuse to Register their Herds
Amish farmers in Wisconsin have run up against a legal requirement that they refuse to honor: a 2005 state law that requires all farms to register their livestock herds. An Amish farmer in Clark County is facing a civil court suit because he will not violate his religious beliefs, which he feels would be compromised […]
Hutterite Case Goes to Canada’s Supreme Court
Throughout October, Canadians have been responding to the freedom of religious expression issues raised by the Wilson Colony of Hutterites in southern Alberta. The Wilson Colony believes that a 2003 change in provincial law, which requires all driver’s licenses to include valid photos, violates their understanding of the Second Commandment forbidding graven images. Since their […]
Amish Outhouses in Pennsylvania
The latest chapter in a drama that made the national news in June played out in a Cambria County, Pennsylvania, courtroom last Thursday when a District Judge upheld a lower court’s findings against an Amish man. Andy Schwartzentruber, owner of land on which an Amish school is located, continues to defy official county sewage disposal […]
Canadian Supreme Court will Hear Hutterite Case
The contentious issue of freedom of religion for Hutterite colonies in Alberta was back in the news last weekend because the Canadian Supreme Court has decided to hear their case. In 2003, the Province of Alberta decided to abolish its long-standing policy that had permitted religious exemptions to its requirement that every driver’s license must […]
Hutterites Win Court Appeal Regarding Photo IDs
The Wilson Hutterite Colony, near Lethbridge, Alberta, won a court case which requests that they not be required to have their photos on their provincial drivers licenses. Previous to 2003, the province had allowed the registrar of driver’s licensing to use discretion in allowing exemptions from the photo requirement because of religious reasons. The province […]
San Win Major Court Case
Botswana’s High Court announced its decision on December 13: the government must allow the G/wi and G//ana San people the right to return to their traditional homes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Evicting the San from their land was “unlawful and unconstitutional,” the court ruled. Furthermore, the people must have the right to gather […]
