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.

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2,932 Articles
IMAGES (left to right): People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on November 7, 2023 in Khan Yunis, Gaza (Photo by Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images); A fireball erupts during Israeli bombardment of Gaza City on October 9, 2023 (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images); The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the UN, holds public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case South Africa v. Israel on 11 and 12 January 2024, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court (Photo by the International Court of Justice).

Just Security’s Israel-Hamas War Archive

Just Security's collection of more than 110 articles covering the Israel-Hamas War and its diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian consequences.
NY Corrections officers and criminal justice reform activist exchange words during a rally outside of City Hall before the start of a City Council hearing on Intro 549 on September 28, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Criminal Justice Reform Didn’t End — It Decentralized

While federal rhetoric and policy have shifted sharply in a punitive direction, state governments continue to serve as the primary engines of criminal justice reform.
US Capitol Building against a sunset

The Court Gutted Congress’s War Power. It’s Time to Give It Back.

A 1983 Supreme Court ruling eviscerated the law allowing Congress to end war. The Iran strikes make that a five-alarm emergency.

The “Presumption of Regularity” in Trump Administration Litigation (4th edition)

The most comprehensive study of court cases involving the Trump administration from January 20, 2025 to present
Close-up of several metal handguns laid side by side on a table, their barrels and triggers visible in tight rows, representing some of the thousands of weapons seized by the Mexican Army from drug traffickers in northern Mexico in January 2017. Gun reads: "U.S.A. [...] Springfield, Mass."

Firearms Trafficking Comes to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Recent Advisory Opinion

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights' recent advisory opinion addresses the obligations of States and private actors to prevent and combat illicit trafficking of firearms.
A man looks at an altar honouring dead migrants at the Mexico-US border wall

America Is Turning Away People Fleeing for Their Lives — and Breaking the Law to Do It

Former senior officials explain why the Trump administration's argument in Noem v. Al Otro Lado is morally troubling and legally wrong.
A photographer with camera on a tripod stands in front of a soaring glass and sand-colored facade with a curved roofline.

If the U.S. Wants Durable Peace, It Must Protect the Institutions That Build It

A year ago, the Trump administration seized the U.S. Institute of Peace and began to dismantle it, gutting a key capability to reduce and prevent violent conflict.
Wide shot ​view of the entrance to Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad ​on May​ 2, 2004, showing high concrete walls, a central gate, and a watchtower under a hazy sky​.

Fourth Circuit Affirms $42 Million Jury Verdict in Abu Ghraib Case

​In Al Shimari,​ the Fourth Circuit affirmed ​two Alien Tort Statute claims: conspiracy to commit torture and conspiracy to commit cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.
A figurine in front of the black and white logo of the U.S. artificial intelligence safety and research company Anthropic

The War on Anthropic: Pretextual Designation and Unlawful Punishment

The Trump administration’s salvo against Anthropic is invalidated by statutory limits, First Amendment freedoms, and the Constitution’s absolute bar against bills of attainder
The Department of Justice

How a Broadly Defined Counterterrorism Statute Could Be Abused

18 U.S.C. § 2339A doesn’t require proof of group membership or terrorist intent, and the policy framework around it outweighs any single verdict.
Observers film ICE agents as they hold a perimeter after one of their vehicles got a flat tire on Penn Avenue on February 5, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protests continue calling for an end to immigration raids which have already resulted in the fatal shooting deaths of Alex Pretti, a VA nurse, and Renee Good, a mother of three, by federal agents. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Confrontation in Court: How to Hold the Trump Administration Accountable for Violating Court Orders

Judge Schiltz’s orders in Tobay Robles v. Noem expose 96 ICE court-order violations in one month and show how forcing top officials to testify can restore the rule of law.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (C) and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer (R) during a press briefing held at the White House February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

What Just Happened: Tariffs Are Gone and Then Back Again

The SCOTUS decision on Trump's tariffs, and the president’s subsequent reaction, leave many questions about tariff rates and what comes next.
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