The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Criminalization of Illegal Entry Around the World.

On the basis of a worldwide survey, this report identifies 162 countries that have laws criminalizing or otherwise punishing illegal entry.  The chart shows countries that impose criminal sanctions for illegal entry as well as countries that impose only civil or administrative penalties (typically fines and deportation). 

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, The Revocation of Huguenot Rights to French Citizenship

The 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes deprived French Protestants, otherwise known as the Huguenots, of all religious and civil liberties.  This led to the widespread persecution of Huguenots, and over 400,000 emigrated from France as a result.  Religious freedom was re-established during the French Revolution, and a 1790 law provided that descendants of French individuals who had fled the country due to religious persecution had a right to settle in France and claim French citizenship.  This rule, confirmed in a slightly amended form in 1889, remained applicable until 1945, when the French Citizenship Code abrogated almost all prior legislation on the matter of citizenship, including the laws of 1790 and 1889.

The 1945 French Citizenship Code was adopted by way of an ordonnance, which is, in this context, an act of delegated legislation.  The French Constitution allows, under certain conditions, the executive branch to legislate in lieu of Parliament.  These acts of legislation, which are subject to both prior authorization and later confirmation by Parliament, are called ordonnances.  Once an ordonnance has been ratified or confirmed by Parliament, it becomes the equivalent of a law.  An ordonnance may amend or entirely abrogate prior legislation. 

The concept of delegated legislation has existed in France for a long time, under different names.  However, the 1945 ordonnance that instituted the then-new French Citizenship Code never authorized by Parliament, because France had no Parliament to speak of between July 1940 and October 1945.  It does not appear that the legality and legitimacy of the ordonnances of 1945 were ever challenged, and French courts treat them as a valid exercise of legislative authority.  The 1945 ordonnance which abrogated the right to French citizenship for descendants of Huguenots should therefore be seen as a valid piece of legislation under French law.

This report is one of the many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Legal Restrictions on Religious Slaughter of Animals in Europe.

This report includes surveys of the laws of 25 European jurisdictions concerning the legality of religious slaughter, updating and expanding the Law Library’s March 2018 report. All European countries that do not allow kosher or halal slaughter of animals are included; some but not all countries that permit such slaughter subject to regulation are also included. In addition, the report summarizes a February 2019 European Court of Justice decision on religious slaughter and organic labeling. 

This report is one of the many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Supply Chain Regulation of Pharmaceutical Samples.

This research surveys several countries’ regulations regarding “serialization” of pharmaceutical products and whether these regulations apply to free medicinal product samples. The attached reports explore the specific “track and trace” or “serialization” laws and regulations in the European Union, Japan, and Turkey. While technical aspects of serialization differ across jurisdictions, one widely used benchmark for legislation is the voluntary GS1 standards, and specifically the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). Globally, it is estimated that 70 countries have based their regulatory requirements for traceability of pharmaceuticals on these standards.

This report is one of the many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Regulation and Funding of Alternative Maternity Care Providers.

This report includes surveys of the regulation and funding of two types of alternative maternity care providers, midwives and doulas, in 10 countries around the world. All researched jurisdictions regulate the work of midwives, which is not the case when it comes to doula activities. Health care, which includes midwife services, is funded either by the government at the federal, provincial, territorial, or local level or by a national health insurance scheme. Doula services are not funded in the vast majority of the researched jurisdictions.

This report is one of the many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Laws Protecting Journalists from Online Harassment.

Attacks against journalists appear to be on the rise recently in countries around the world. These include attacks allegedly directed by governments or politicians, as well as by individuals displeased with their own media coverage or generally with the press. The widespread use of social media has facilitated harassment of journalists in online settings by a variety of means, including by disseminating threats and disinformation, stalking, and broadcasting private or personally identifiable information about targeted journalists (doxing). This report is composed of a survey of relevant international law instruments and activities directed at protection against online threats and harassment of journalists, as well as individual surveys for 11 countries. 

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Regulation of Foreign Involvement in Elections.

This report includes surveys of 13 major democratic foreign jurisdictions on laws and policies addressing foreign involvement in elections. Reports of foreign interference in recent elections in the United States and elsewhere have prompted responses in several countries. For example, Australia, Canada, France, and South Africa have new laws in 2018 addressing political contributions, and most of the other countries surveyed in this report similarly have laws prohibiting foreign donations.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Greece: Higher Education Reforms and University Asylum.

This report discusses the legislative history of the university asylum rule that prohibits police from entering universities without permission of a three-person panel (with exceptions). Relevant legislation and legislative resources are highlighted. A short bibliography is also included. (Nov. 2019)

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, European Union: Health Standards in Refugee Camps.

The European Union is tasked with establishing a Common European Asylum System. To that end, several legislative instruments have been adopted, including a directive on standards regarding reception conditions of applicants for asylum or subsidiary and temporary protection. For vulnerable persons, such as minors, there are special protections in place. Applicants have a right to receive necessary health care, which must at least include emergency care and essential treatment of illnesses and of serious mental disorders. (Dec. 2019)

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Airport Noise Regulations.

This multinational report on airport noise regulations surveys the laws of the European Union; six of its Member States (France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden); and the United Kingdom.  Noise thresholds typically vary between the surveyed jurisdictions as well as between individual airports, taking into account both geographic and commercial interests. All jurisdictions surveyed require that noise from airports be taken into account when planning and zoning new residential areas and airports. Other methods for limiting noise levels include the imposition of taxes or fines on airlines or airports that violate established noise thresholds.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Legal Provisions on Gender Equality.

This report discusses the legal provisions governing inheritance rights, the legal age of marriage, and the transmittal of citizenship through the mother in 18 Middle Eastern and North African countries, including Israel, Iran, and 16 Arab countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen). To the extent applicable, the report also discusses constitutional provisions promoting gender equality in these countries.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Points-Based and Family Immigration.

This report explains the points-based immigration systems adopted by Australia, Austria, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Each of these countries determines a noncitizen’s eligibility to obtain a particular visa or residence status partly by whether that noncitizen is able to score above a threshold number of points in accordance with the country’s points scoring system. All of the countries have points-based immigration system for skilled workers. Other categories for which a points-based immigration system is used include investor, entrepreneur/business start-up, persons with exceptional capabilities, temporary worker, and job seeker.  

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Plea Bargaining.

This report examines laws and practices related to plea bargaining in six countries: Georgia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Russia, and Singapore. Of these countries, three (Georgia, Malaysia, and Nigeria) have formalized both charge and sentence bargaining procedures in legislation. Russian legislation provides for a "special trial procedure" for defendants who plead guilty, and "special path" provisions based on Russia's approach are currently being considered as part of criminal procedure reforms in Indonesia. Russia has also implemented provisions on "pretrial cooperation agreements" aimed at providing incentives for individuals involved in organized crime to cooperate with authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence. Georgia also provides for "agreements on special cooperation". In Singapore, there are no current or proposed plea bargaining provisions in legislation. However, two programs have implemented that enable alternative case resolution processes to be applied. (March 2020) 

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Protection of Environmental Defenders in Latin America.

This report includes surveys of laws guaranteeing the safety of environmental defenders in Latin America, especially in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. A United Nations Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was adopted for the specific purpose of promoting, protecting, and defending human rights in environmental matters was signed by Brazil, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. However, Colombia and Honduras are the only countries that have enacted specific legislation for the protection of environmental defenders.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Government Responses to Disinformation.

Concerns regarding the impact of viral dissemination of disinformation on democratic systems of government, on political discourse, on public trust in state institutions, and on social harmony have been expressed by many around the world. This report addresses reported instances of alleged disinformation and highlights governmental responses to challenges posed by the spread of disinformation on social media platforms in 16 jurisdictions

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Child Protection Law and Policy.

This report includes surveys of 16 foreign jurisdictions on laws and policies on protecting children from abuse and neglect. The introductory summary briefly describes domestic U.S. federal law before turning to a comparative analysis of foreign law. The individual country surveys in this report describe the law of each jurisdiction on protecting children from abuse and neglect. They also describe practices respecting data gathering and the publication of statistics, as applicable in each country.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

The Law Library of Congress is proud to present the report, Virtual Civil Trials.

This report surveys the law of 25 foreign jurisdictions on the availability and functioning of virtual civil hearings and/or trials, including the structure of civil court systems and arrangements made to ensure the continuation of hearings and proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report describes foreign court systems that have adopted a range of options and procedural conditions for virtual hearings and/or trials in noncriminal cases in each jurisdiction surveyed.

This report is one of many prepared by the Law Library of Congress. Visit the Comprehensive Index of Legal Reports page for a complete listing of reports and the Current Legal Topics page for our highlighted and newer reports. 

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