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
Can Detainees Plead Their Way Out of Guantánamo?
One of the more curious tidbits to emerge from the Senate Armed Services Committee’s draft of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (which the Committee approved…
The 702 Reform Debate Is Just Heating Up
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…
Transparency, Review, and Relief: The Far-Reaching Implications of the Kunduz Report
Thus far, many discussions of the US military’s release of a 120-page detailed report of the lawfulness of its attack on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) facility in Kunduz,…
Michael Ratner: The Leading Progressive Lawyer of a Generation
I just heard that Michael Ratner passed away from complications due to cancer. His New York Times obituary is here. My heart is broken. Michael was an extraordinary lawyer and…
Michael Ratner, RIP
My good friend and mentor, Michael Ratner, has died at age 72. A lawyer who worked with the Center for Constitutional Rights for more than 40 years, he was one of the great human…
Fourth Circuit To Hear Abu Ghraib Political Question Doctrine Appeal
Tomorrow morning, an (as-yet-unannounced) panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will hear the (third!) appeal in Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Technology, Inc.,…
The Supreme Court’s Troubling Neglect of Courts-Martial
Later this year, the Supreme Court will decide whether to take up the case of Akbar v. United States — in which the Petitioner is seeking review of a capital court-martial…
Why Captain Smith’s suit to enforce the War Powers Resolution won’t be a big deal
Last week, Army Captain Nathan Michael Smith filed a federal court suit against President Obama, seeking a declaration that the War Powers Resolution requires the President to…
Are US Courts Going Dark?
Now that the cell phones in San Bernardino and Brooklyn have been unlocked (no thanks to Apple), FBI warnings about “going dark” in the face of advancing digital encryption…
A Small, If Uncertain, Step Towards Accountability: De Sousa and the Abu Omar Abduction
Portuguese courts continue to clear the path for the extradition of former CIA agent Sabrina De Sousa to Italy. In 2009, Italy convicted De Sousa and 22 other US officials (all…
One-and-a-Half Cheers for Salim v. Mitchell
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…
Congress’s Embarrassingly Empty (National Security) Record
This week, we learned the United States will send 250 special operations troops to the war in Syria, bringing the publicly known total number of American troops operating in the…