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Just Security

A Roadmap for Reform: How the Biden Administration Can Revitalize the Office of Legal Counsel

As President-Elect Joe Biden announces his picks for cabinet positions, the Nation’s focus has increasingly turned to the challenges facing the incoming administration. One such…
The US Capitol Building is lit up at night.

Needed: A Whistleblower Protection Paradigm Shift

What should be done to provide truly meaningful and effective protections for government employees or contractors seeking to expose wrongdoing in the Intelligence Community?
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a round table meeting during an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, on December 10, 2020. They stand talking, not actually sitting at the table. They all wear face masks. Behind them a wall is covered with a banner reading “European Council.”

Polish Government’s Attacks on Rule of Law Violate Not Only EU Norms but International Law

The repeated violations of fundamental rights and principles corrode the very foundations of the democracy Poland fought so hard to win.
Trump claps his hands at the Republican presidential nomination as son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and children Eric and Ivanka Trump look on the South Lawn of the White House August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. None of them wear face masks.

We Can’t “Look Forward” on the Trump Administration’s Abuses

When President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, he will confront a national economic crisis and a still out-of-control pandemic. He will also face questions about how to…
The cap of the United States Capitol Building

The Failed Transparency Regime for Executive Agreements

This article is cross-posted at Lawfare.   In late October, the United States and Sudan reportedly signed a bilateral agreement “to resolve claims arising from the 1998…
A banner from EIPR reading, “Free EIPR Staff.” Cropped greyscale photographs of four EIPR staff that have been detained are shown over the banner – Patrick Zaki, Gasser Abdel Razek, Mohammad Basheer, and Karim Ennarah.

Defending Human Rights Is Not Terrorism: The Egypt Arrests as a Case in Point

The UN's global counterterrorism system creates a permissive and enabling environment that sustains and facilitates abuse of rights defenders,
A policeman stops US Actress Mia Farrow and Theary Seng, head of the Centre for Social Development, as they attempt to enter the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum in Phnom Penh, 20 January 2008. They hold white flowers and people with cameras crowd around them.

Cambodian Rights Activist and 55 Others Face Trial as Crackdown on Dissent Intensifies

Given the control that Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling party wields over the judiciary, their odds of getting a fair trial are slim.
Letters reading, “Department of Justice” on the outside wall of the Justice Department building. Plants can be seen out of focus in front of the letters.

The Next Attorney General’s Allegiance Must Be to the Rule of Law

The key credentials of the next AG should be significant prosecutorial experience at the federal or state level and an abiding fidelity to the apolitical administration of justice.
A truck displays posters against the "False Positives in Colombia", extrajudicial executions during the Democratic Security program of the Alvaro Uribe government during a protest on August 06, 2020 in Bogota, Colombia.

US-Opposed Probe of Colombia’s Uribe Is Essential Step in Road to Peace

Uribe was released under pressure last month, but attempts to thwart transitional justice will only undermine efforts to sustain the 2016 peace agreement.
A poll worker helps a voter fill out a provisional ballot at Park Tavern polling station on November 3, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Civic Leaders Are Stepping up to Safeguard the Election and Our Rule of Law

Civic leaders of all stripes can perform a critical function, by setting high expectations for officials and the public, urging responsible and peaceful conduct, and reinforcing…
Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on December 7, 2018.

Loyalty Above All: The “Shallow State” of the Trump Administration

A compilation of executive branch positions deprived of competence and expertise, and filled instead with political loyalists.
Parchment paper reading, “The Good Governance Papers: A Collection of Essays in favor of public integrity and the rule of law as written upon at Just Security Fall 2020”

Good Governance Paper No. 18: Reforming Emergency Powers

Latest in series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and rule of law.
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