As of May 1, 2020, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). On 3 April 2020, the Supreme Court joined the FSM National Government and the four State Governments efforts to keep the coronavirus out of the FSM. The Supreme Court issued Emergency Order No. 1, in response to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
Countries around the world are grappling with a surge in radicalization and violent extremism, which disproportionally affects young people. This trend is associated in part with the political and socioeconomic disaffection of young men, and increasingly young women, who join terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant; and with the far right, neo-fascist and white separatist movements gaining traction across western societies, including Europe and North America. In looking at ways to address this, there has been growing understanding that security-based responses to violent extremism must be accompanied by a focus on more preventative efforts.
Court cases in Mauritius are traditionally heard in open court with legal advisers, litigants, witnesses as well as the court staff in attendance. In regular circumstances, the public also has physical access to the courts and the administrative sections during office hours. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to previous methods and pushed the judiciary to expand its virtual operations.
The Government of Mauritius initiated a lockdown on 20 March 2020 under section 79 of the Public Health Act to curb the spread of COVID-19. It is an extraordinary measure that could limit or suspend fundamental rights and freedoms. All public and private businesses were closed, but the Courts continued operations as one of the 'essential services' for the hearing of urgent cases.
This Technical Guide provides comprehensive guidance on how sport and sport-based programmes can be used in the context of Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) to address related risk and protective factors. The event will highlight the important role that sport can play in preventing violent extremism and will serve to share experiences from states and civil society organizations on the effective integration of sport in national policy frameworks and the implementation of sport-based programmes.
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When: Thursday, 2 July 2020, 2:00 PM CET
Where: Online/Microsoft Teams (registered participants will receive a link to join the event)
Can judges wear masks in court trials? COVID-19 presents us with a novel question that demonstrates a conflict of values in this time.
If trials contribute to the spread of the virus, public trust in the judiciary could be undermined. It goes beyond the judicial duties of a judge if performing those duties poses a direct threat to the judge's life or health.
However, the timely exercise of the judicial function may be more important than ever. According to the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, a judge shall perform all judicial duties with reasonable promptness. In the Republic of Korea, instead of compulsory and full-scale lockdown, the government instead has imposed obligatory self-quarantine only on high-risk groups.
