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.
2,856 Articles
A Proposed Fix To the Microsoft Ireland Case
On Tuesday, I posted the Second Circuit’s denial of the petition for rehearing en banc in the Microsoft case and promised to write more. I have now done so (via Slate); the piece…
UK Supreme Court allows claims to proceed against UK officials for complicity in CIA torture
Earlier this month, the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that claims against UK officials for complicity in torture, unlawful detention and rendition are not barred by State…
Understanding Complicity: When the US Makes a “Substantial Contribution” to War Crimes Committed by Foreign Partners
With power comes responsibility. In their new duties, Trump administration officials will need to consider the legal hazards associated with supporting foreign military partners…
The UK Supreme Court’s Brexit Judgment: Implications and Unintended Consequences
The UK Supreme Court decision in the Brexit litigation on Tuesday is the most important judgment that the Court has delivered in its short history. Its 283 paragraphs will provide…
How the European Convention on Human Rights Limits Cooperation with the Trump Administration
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to keep the Guantanamo Bay detention facility open and to “load it up with some bad dudes.” He also pledged to bring…
The U.S. Constitution and the Risk of Democratic Backsliding
Is there a real possibility of the erosion of democratic institutions toward authoritarianism in the United States? What can the experience of other countries tell us about how…
The UK Supreme Court’s Landmark Judgment Belhaj v. Straw: A View From the United States
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom gave its judgment in Belhaj v. Straw and Rahmatullah v. Ministry of Defence, two human rights cases brought against UK officials…
The CIA’s New Guidelines for Handling Americans’ Information
In acknowledgment of the mass scale of modern electronic intelligence collection, the Central Intelligence Agency today released newly updated guidelines governing how it treats…
Why the Cartwright Pardon is More Important Than the Manning Commutation
Today’s news of President Obama’s decision to commute most of the rest of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence has received (and will receive) significant…
UK Supreme Court Judgment on Extra-Territorial Detention in Iraq and Afghanistan
Today, the UK Supreme Court gave judgment (full text) in the joined appeals of Al Waheed v Ministry of Defence and Serdar Mohammed v Ministry of Defence (in which I represented…
UK Supreme Court Issues Two Major Decisions—On cooperation with CIA interrogations and on military detention
On Tuesday, the UK Supreme Court issued two important judgments, which will affect the power of the British government to carry out certain national security policies and, in turn,…
The Supreme Court, the Trump Transition, and the Future of the Constitutional “Border”
With all due respect to the Emoluments Clauses, perhaps the most important set of constitutional questions implicated by the presidential transition involves the individual…