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.
2,857 Articles
Philip Bobbitt’s War Without Tears
In times of war, it’s sometimes said, the laws fall silent—but the laws, and the human rights lawyers who would enforce them, are still faintly murmuring, and these faint murmurs…
A Duty to Disobey?
The United States is in the midst of an uncertain era of complex global threats. Some have described the nation’s defense policy as one of “forever war.” During this…
The Next Four Years: A Thanksgiving Strategy
On this Thanksgiving Day, like many gathered around dining tables everywhere, I have so much to be thankful for personally: the most wonderful family and friends imaginable,…
Keeping Track of Trump’s Conflicts of Interest [Updated Dec. 5]
Since the election, there has been a firehose of news: President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, rumors about Trump’s cabinet picks, a Neo-Nazi conference in Washington,…
Smith v. Obama: The Political Question Doctrine Misapplied
Having joined The Constitution Project in an amicus brief in Smith v. Obama, I am disappointed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia decided to dismiss the case…
Why Trump’s Proposed Targeting of Muslims Would be Unconstitutional
As a candidate, Donald Trump notoriously called for a ban on the entrance of all Muslims, a database to track Muslims in the United States, for aggressive surveillance of “the…
Trump’s Whistleblowers—Whether Limited Pardons for Manning and Snowden Makes Sense Now
Whatever you might have previously thought about the notion of President Barack Obama pardoning Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, the election of Donald Trump changes everything.…
Accountability for States’ Assisting Other States’ Wrongful Acts: The Superior Effectiveness of Human Rights Norms
Just Security and Chatham House are hosting a “mini forum” to debate and discuss Chatham House’s new research paper on “Aiding and Assisting: Challenges in Armed Conflict…
State Department’s Chief Legal Adviser Rebukes (Trump’s) Proposed Closures of the Internet
The U.S. government should not consider shutting down parts of the Web as it continues to develop ways to prevent the Internet from being used for terrorist purposes, a top State…
Why I’m a Federal Courts Nerd (and You Should Be, Too)
In addition to the election, yesterday was also the first anniversary of the terribly untimely passing of my college mentor, Professor Nasser Hussain. And this past weekend, the…
Surveillance and Anti-Press Sentiment Heightens Concerns for Journalists Closer to Home
In 1999, Amartya Sen argued that the health of a country could be determined by examining the health of its press. One metric of the fitness of a country’s press is the safety…
Is Throwing a Rock Through a Window “Terrorism”? Some Federal Prosecutors Think So
Image by Tomas Castelazo— Wikimedia Did you know that throwing a rock through the window of a Whole Foods could be punished as a federal crime of terrorism? An Assistant United…