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

Convicting Individuals Isn’t Enough Accountability for Mass Violations of International Law
On Saturday, news outlets reported an arrest by UN police on one of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia’s last outstanding warrants. French journalist…

Contempt Charges and the International Criminal Tribunals
The last days have been busy in the international criminal law world with convictions in the Karadžić case at the ICTY and the Bemba case at the ICC, and the confirmation for…

The Many Significances of the Karadžić Conviction
Last week, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Radovan Karadžić, the former President of the Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander…

Engines of Liberty: How Civil Society Helped Restore Constitutional Rights in the Aftermath of 9/11
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…

Obama’s Plan Is Not a Guantánamo North
President Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo has seemingly been criticized by all sides of the political spectrum. At a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee this…

FBI Discovers It Can Access That iPhone After All
Update: The FBI is now explicitly denying that the method described in this post is the one they’re planning to employ — so apparently my suspicion was mistaken and they…

A friendly critique of the proposed Chesney/Vladeck “middle ground” in the Apple/FBI disputes
Bobby Chesney and Steve Vladeck have published an excellent and provocative post today concerning the recent All Writs Act disputes between the government and Apple. I agree with…

Upcoming International Criminal Law Trifecta
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…

Justice Garland and National Security Accountability: What’s Missing from the Dueling Guantánamo Accounts
Not surprisingly, folks looking for interesting things to say about Chief Judge (and Supreme Court nominee) Merrick Garland’s jurisprudence during his 19-year tenure on the…

Strong Intelligence Oversight Can Happen Within the Executive Branch
That the American public is divided on the current showdown between Silicon Valley and the national security state is to be expected. What is more striking, at least at first blush,…

The Growing Divide Between European Governments and Regional Courts on Surveillance
Last week, as he delivered his first report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy made headlines with his sharp criticism of the United…

FOIA Litigation Has Its Own Rules, But We Deserve Better
When will federal judges start acting more like State Department flacks? It’s a question worth thinking about during Sunshine Week. For those of us who regularly litigate national…