Courts & Litigation

Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis and informational resources on key litigation impacting national security, rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Our content spans domestic and international litigation, from cases at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and other international and regional tribunals, to those in U.S. courts involving executive branch actions, transnational litigation, and more.

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2,994 Articles
The ICC seal on a window at the International Criminal Court Building in The Hague. The windows act as mirrors, reflecting more of the ICC complex across from it.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Remedying the Corporate Accountability Gap at the ICC

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the consolidated cases of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I and Cargill Inc. v. Doe I, which was argued before…
A watch tower is seen in the currently closed Camp X-Ray at the U.S. Naval Station on June 27, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Barbed wire can be seen in both the background and foreground of the photo.

On Guantanamo’s 19th Anniversary, A Renewed Call to Close It

Nineteen years ago today, the administration of President George W. Bush sent the first detainees to the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center for the purpose of detaining them beyond…
Cases containing electoral votes are opened during a joint session of Congress after the session resumed following protests at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, early on January 7, 2021

The Constitutional Case for Impeaching Donald Trump (Again)

We are, it seems, hurtling toward impeaching Donald J. Trump for a second time in thirteen months. It is entirely right that he should be impeached again, but in the whirl of the…

The Incapacitation of a President and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: A Reader’s Guide

An authoritative analysis of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment on the incapacitation of a president, and how it was intended to function.
An asylum seeker staying at the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, sprays disinfectant on tents on April 3, 2020 as stronger cleaning measures are being implemented to fight the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.

Father-Son Separation at US Border Illustrates Lasting Harm That Demands Redress

The abuses they faced under the Trump administration's immigration policy echo those revealed in a new Human Rights Watch investigation.
Face masks with two most popular candidates for Uganda's Presidential election, incumbent President Yoweri Museveni and Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, the pop star-turned-opposition leader, printed on them are sold in Kampala, Uganda, on January 4, 2021.

Ugandan Human Rights Lawyer Fights Charges on Eve of Presidential Election

Following a now-predictable pattern in the leadup to the polls, authorities have hastened arrests of political opponents and critics of President Museveni.
International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and deputy prosecutor James Stewart speak with another prosecutor during the initial appearance of Patrice-Edouard Ngaissona of the Central African Republic, at the ICC in The Hague on January 25, 2019, following his extradition from France on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

ICC Associates Win Temporary Reprieve from Draconian US Sanctions

A judge granted a preliminary injunction in a case challenging the Trump administration’s sanctions against court personnel and others.
Legal blind justice Themis metal statue with scales on chains

Judges Doing What Judges Do: A Unified Theory of the 2020 Election Season

Dozens of judges, from all political persuasions, uniformly rejected the extravagant claims of President Donald Trump to set aside the presidential election results, or to compel…
File folders in a filing cabinet

The Promises of FOIA in 2021: A Ready Pathway to Accountability

It's not just a matter of choice for Biden admin. Here's what the Freedom of Information Act — and pending litigation — requires the executive branch to disclose about Trump…
Seated under a portrait of the Saudi monarch, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on June 24, 2019.

Why the State Dept Should Reject Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s Claimed “Immunity”

The State Department refused to recognize head-of-state immunity for another Crown Prince, the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed in 2010. The same adherence to international law should…
Ivanka Trump watches Donald Trump speak during a news briefing on coronavirus on March 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. Neither wear face masks.

Purpose, Not Specificity, Limits the Pardon Power: A Rejoinder to Rappaport

'Tis the season for pardons. But must a pardon spell out the crimes to which it applies? The latest in an ongoing conversation between Prof's Bowman and Rappaport on the legality…
Trump

Can a Pardon Be a War Crime?: When Pardons Themselves Violate the Laws of War

Editor’s note: Originally published on May 25, 2019; with an author’s note published on Dec. 24, 2020. Author’s note, Dec. 24, 2020: Not all corrupt pardons…
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