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.
2,864 Articles
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…
Today’s En Banc D.C. Circuit Ruling in Al Bahlul…
163 pages later, we’re back where we started. Six of the nine judges on the en banc D.C. Circuit (with Chief Judge Garland and Judge Srinivasan not participating) voted…
More Guantánamo Mishegas (The Unlawful Detention of a US Citizen Edition)
Just when it seems like the ongoing, neverending saga that is the Guantánamo military commissions can’t get any stranger, there’s this: As Carol Rosenberg (who else)…
International Armed Conflict in Syria and the (Lack of) Official Immunity for War Crimes
Last week, I wrote two posts at Just Security (here and here) on one of the legal consequences that would follow if the situation in Syria is an “international armed conflict”…
The Dangerous Implications of the Microsoft Ireland Case
Yesterday evening, the government filed its petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc in the Microsoft Ireland case. Throughout the brief, the government warns of both the…
Hot off the Presses: DOJ Rehearing Petition in the Microsoft Ireland Case (Full Text)
DOJ filed the attached motion tonight, seeking rehearing or reaching en banc in the Microsoft Ireland case. In the government’s words: “The [panel] Opinion has created…