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

The Significance of the ICC’s First Guilty Plea
Yesterday Al Faqi Al Mahdi of Mali pled guilty at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to one count of directing an attack against buildings dedicated to religion and historic…

Judicial Enforcement of a Senate Subpoena of Backpage.com
Last week, the DC Circuit temporarily stayed an order enforcing a US Senate subpoena for records from the classified advertising site, Backpage.com, which has come under scrutiny…

Is it Unconstitutional for the Supreme Court to Hear Court-Martial Appeals?
According to a provocative new amicus brief filed by the Hoover Institution’s Adam White and UVA Law Professor Aditya Bamzai in opposition to certiorari in Akbar v. United…

We Shouldn’t Wait Another Fifteen Years for a Conversation About Government Hacking
With high-profile hacks in the headlines and government officials trying to reopen a long-settled debate about encryption, information security has become a mainstream issue. But…

Secret Law, Targeting, and the Problem of Standards: A Response to Dakota Rudesill
In his recent posts and an article, Dakota Rudesill tackles the phenomenon of secret law. Dakota persuasively describes a growing body secret law, which he defines as “legal…

It’s Time to Come to Terms With Secret Law: Part II
On Wednesday, I summarized the findings of my recent study of alleged secret law in the three branches of the US government and my conclusion that secret law is a limited but important…

It’s Time to Come to Terms With Secret Law: Part I
Secret law. The words are chilling. They evoke Kafka, unaccountable government, liberty subordinated to state security – and to some ears, perhaps simply the paranoid rantings…

International Justice Day Round-Up III: Salvadoran Amnesty Law, Germany Apologizes to Namibia over Genocide, Corporate Criminality, and Colombia Ceasefire
This is Part III of an international criminal justice round-up covering ten of the top developments in the field this spring and summer. Part I is here and covers the Habré case,…

International Justice Day Round-Up II: Bemba, the Crime of Aggression, and More Justice for Chile
This is Part II of an International Justice Day Top-10 Round Up. Part I—which discussed the recent judgment against Hissène Habré in the Extraordinary African Chambers, the…

The Microsoft Ireland Case and the Future of Digital Privacy
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…

International Justice Day Round-Up I: Habre, Bashir Travel, Crimes Against Humanity in Mexico
The field of international criminal justice has witnessed a number of important developments this spring and summer—enough to merit a proverbial top-ten list. In honor of International…

Three Key Takeaways: The 2d Circuit Ruling in The Microsoft Warrant Case
As readers no doubt already know, the Second Circuit today issued a surprise ruling in the Microsoft Ireland warrant case — siding with Microsoft. The result: location of data…