Executive Branch
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.
4,604 Articles
Fighting Human Trafficking in Conflict: Ideas for the UN Security Council
Slavery – is it making a comeback? There is a growing awareness that as many as 45.8 million people may be enslaved around the world today, and that supply-chains for basic commodities…
Senators Move to Block US Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia
A bipartisan group of four US senators yesterday introduced a joint resolution aimed at blocking the U.S. sale of more than $1.15 billion in M1 Abrams tanks and other weapons…
Does the Int’l Criminal Court Have Jurisdiction Over U.S. Forces in Libya?
Recent US airstrikes against ISIL targets in Libya raise an intriguing question: does the International Criminal Court (ICC) have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute US actions…
Weapon, Combatant, Child, Animal: They’re All Insufficient Analogies for Autonomous Weapon Systems
Autonomous weapon systems, that is, weapon systems capable of independently selecting and engaging targets, are usually portrayed in one of two ways. Either they are depicted as…
The Vulnerability Equities Process Should Consider More than Intelligence Community Needs
Dave Aitel and Matt Tait’s recent post in Lawfare argued that the U.S. government’s procedure for deciding whether to withhold unknown or little-known vulnerabilities in…
The Law of Aiding and Abetting (Alleged) War Crimes: How to Assess US and UK Support for Saudi Strikes in Yemen
US and UK support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen have received significant attention recently due to reports of strikes that damaged or destroyed hospitals, schools,…
Explainer: What Mental State is Required to Commit a War Crime?
What exactly is the definition of war crimes under international law or, more precisely, what mental state is required to commit such an offence? The synopsis below provides an…
State Responsibility for Assistance to Foreign Forces (aka How to Assess US-UK Support for Saudi Ops in Yemen)
Airstrikes in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition have received increased attention in the last few weeks. In her recent post, Beth Van Schaack noted that in addition to the potential…
The ICRC Updated Commentaries: Reconciling Form and Substance, Part II
Last week, I left off my exploration of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) 2016 Updated Commentaries on the First Geneva Convention of 1949 by asking…
Letter to the Editor: The Opposite of Discrimination Against Veterans
In Charles Dunlap’s recent article about discrimination against veterans and ROTC, he mentioned Brown as an example of Ivy League discrimination because a “Brown University…
Third Circuit Holds Suspension Clause Does Not Apply to Non-Citizens Physically (But Not Lawfully) Present in the United States
In a breathtaking 80-page opinion handed down today in Castro v. U.S. Dep’t of Homeland Security, a unanimous panel of the Third Circuit has held that the Suspension Clause…
A 9/11 Commission Approach to the Russian Hack of the DNC
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…