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
Police shoot tear gas at demonstrators protesting police brutality and the murder of George Floyd. Protestors run in a panic to escape the tear gas outside St. John's Episcopal Church outside the White House. The police wear full riot gear including helmets, face shields, body shields, batons and masks. June 1, 2020 Washington DC

Revitalizing US Democracy Starts with Repairing the Right to Peaceful Assembly

Five actions the Biden administration can take to better protect the right to peaceful assembly.
Supreme Court Building

Supreme Court Preview: Collins v. Mnuchin and the Expanding ‘Unitary Executive’ Theory

The consequences for the federal government of an expanded unitary executive theory would be significant: high turnover, low competence, and less expertise, all of which serve…
A cocoa producer of the Yakasse-Attobrou Agricultural Cooperative (Cooperative Agricole de Yakasse-Attobrou - CAYAT) poses with a cocoa pod in each hand in front of a pannel reading "CAYAT says no to child labour" at a certified fair trade label cocoa plantation in Adzope on Agust 28, 2018.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: In Oral Arguments, Justices Weigh Liability for Chocolate Companies

U.S. corporations, including Nestle and Cargill, may face massive liability under the Alien Tort Statute for aiding and abetting slavery abroad. But does the ATS support such liability?…
Robert H. Jackson’s opening statement at the Nuremberg Trials.

A Commander’s Duty to Punish War Crimes: Past U.S. Recognition

A comprehensive, sweeping analysis of "the United States’ own long-standing views that a commander’s failure to punish war crimes by his subordinates may itself amount to war…
Cocoa producers of the Yakasse-Attobrou Agricultural Cooperative (Cooperative Agricole de Yakasse-Attobrou - CAYAT) carry agriculture kits distributed by the cooperative at the CAYAT headquarters in Adzope on Agust 31, 2018.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: The Economic Folly of Human Trafficking for American Business

The threat of liability under the Alien Tort Statute (such as the Nestlé/Cargill suit) costs businesses money – that's just cold economic reality. Or is it? Amici in the case,…
A pile of copper dust at Bisha Mine, Eritrea's first major international mine, 150 kilometres west of Asmara on July 17, 2013.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: A Canadian Perspective – Takeaways from Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya.

As the U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with corporate immunity for human rights abuses abroad, they may find a parallel Canadian case – in which the Supreme Court of Canada opened…
The cocoa bean packing warehouse sits empty in the Sampaka Farm on August 08, 2018 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The warehouse is dark with only two skylights and a ladder with wheels stands toward the center of the room.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Rethinking the Alien Tort Statute

Tuesday's Supreme Court argument tackled thorny questions of extraterritoriality, customary international law, and corporate liability. But were any of these questions necessary?…
Exterior View of the International Criminal Court building in The Hague.

Part III: What Kinds of Situations and Cases Should the ICC Pursue? The Independent Expert Review of the ICC and the Question of Aperture

The third and final part of this series examines two additional factors that have widened the ICC's aperture, cautions that narrowing the Court's aperture may not always be desirable,…
Libyan delegates, including Abdessalam Shuha, Abdallah Shibani, Hussein Mohamed Elansari, an unidentified participant and Abdel Majid Mlayqtah attend the opening of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum hosted in Gammarth on the outskirts of Tunisia's capital, on November 9, 2020. They stand side by side not socially distanced and wear face masks, though two of them do not wear the face masks properly, ie. not covering their noses.

Libya: Subnational Governance as a Potential Anchor of Stability

As the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum proceeds, a government structure that genuinely responds to legitimate grievances will be key to sustainable peace.
Exterior View of the International Criminal Court building in The Hague.

Part II: What Kinds of Situations and Cases Should the ICC Pursue? The Independent Expert Review of the ICC and the Question of Aperture

What does it mean in practice for the ICC to be a court of last resort? How should the Office of the Prosecutor assess whether there have been genuine national efforts at accountability,…
A child displays a part of the missile that hit a bus carrying tens of children leaving dozens dead earlier this week, on August 12, 2018 in Saada, Yemen.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Toward a Harmonized Test for Complicity of Corporate Officials?

[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 banner from EIPR reading, “Free EIPR Staff.” Cropped greyscale photographs of four EIPR staff that have been detained are shown over the banner – Patrick Zaki, Gasser Abdel Razek, Mohammad Basheer, and Karim Ennarah.

Defending Human Rights Is Not Terrorism: The Egypt Arrests as a Case in Point

The UN's global counterterrorism system creates a permissive and enabling environment that sustains and facilitates abuse of rights defenders,
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