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.
2,973 Articles
European Court of Human Rights to Torture Victims: Get Lost
In a disappointing decision yesterday (Jones v. United Kingdom), the European Court of Human Rights upheld the immunity of states and state officials from civil suits for torture…
European Court of Human Rights: Foreign State Officials are Immune from Civil Suit for Torture (Jones v. United Kingdom)
The European Court of Human Rights has issued its long-awaited judgment in Jones v. United Kingdom. The case involves four British nationals who sued Saudi Arabia and Saudi officials…
10 Questions for the Review Group Members to Publicly Address at the Senate Hearings
The members of the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies will appear on Tuesday, January 14th for hearings before the Senate Judiciary…
Could the NSA’s Telephony Metadata Program Have Prevented 9/11? Judge William Pauley v. Lawrence Wright
In an earlier post, I proposed some analytic tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the NSA’s telephony metadata program – in light of recommendations by the President’s…
Responding to John Dehn’s Letter to the Editor on the 9/11 Military Commissions
I agree with John Dehn that the military justice system is far more fair, orderly and efficient than the military commission system. My argument for why civilian federal courts…
OLC Memos and FOIA: Why the (b)(5) Exemption Matters
The headline of yesterday’s D.C. Circuit decision in Electronic Frontier Foundation v. Department of Justice, in which the Court of Appeals rejected a FOIA request for a…
FISC Approves Application to Renew Telephony Metadata Program [UPDATED]
Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified and announced that the FISC has approved the government’s application to renew the telephony metadata…
Prediction: Fourth Amendment Evolves in 2014
When should courts follow legal precedent and when should the law change? This is a debate that underlies this month’s contrary decisions about the constitutionality of government…
Very Summary Account of Judge Pauley’s Opinion on the 215 Telephony Metadata Program
I’ll defer to others for substantive analysis of Judge Pauley’s opinion. To facilitate discussion, however, here is a very abbreviated roadmap of his holdings, based…
Judge Pauley (SDNY) Rules NSA Bulk Telephony Metadata Program is Constitutional
Earlier this month, Judge Leon (D.D.C.) issued a ruling enjoining the NSA metadata program under Section 215 (and then staying his decision pending appeal), noting that the…
Two Quick Reflections on Why al Maqaleh III Matters
Over at Lawfare, Raffaela Wakeman already flagged today’s (unsurprising) D.C. Circuit decision in al Maqaleh v. Hagel, once again dismissing for lack of jurisdiction appeals…
Belhaj v. Straw: UK complicity in US rendition and torture
This morning the United Kingdom’s High Court issued its judgment in a case brought by Abdel-Hakim Belhaj and his wife Fatima Boudchar against the UK’s government and intelligence…