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.
4,599 Articles
Blackwater’s Unsung Heroes
In a recent discussion of newly released memos on torture in the War on Terror, David Cole has surmised that “had anyone had the temerity to say no, the program almost certainty…
Call for Papers: Columbia’s Human Rights Law Review & Human Rights Institute
The Columbia Human Rights Law Review, in collaboration with the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, is issuing a call for submissions for a special symposium edition entitled…
Collateral Effects of Secretary Clinton’s Nonofficial Email
On March 2, the New York Times reported that Hillary Clinton exclusively used a nongovernment email account during her tenure as Secretary of State. Last December, following a…
The Iran Nuclear Deal: The Dispensability of Obligation
Day by day the debate on the Iran nuclear deal drifts further into the deep weeds. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif last week announced his expectation that the agreement will…
Does the President’s Proposed AUMF Authorize Force Against ISIL “Wannabes”?
A key question in Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing involved what the administration means by ISIL’s “associated forces,” and how the President’s…
Secretary Kerry on the relationship between the 2001 and ISIL AUMFs
Last month, I wrote that “[a]ssuming the President and Congress mean for [the Administration’s draft] AUMF to impose limits on the President’s authority–including,…
The case for the President’s unilateral authority to conclude the impending Iran deal is easy because it will (likely) be a nonbinding agreement under international law
[Cross-posted at Lawfare.] In Marty’s post yesterday about the letter that 47 Senators sent to “the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he briefly addressed…
The Cotton letter . . . and the Vice President’s response
I was thinking of offering a few thoughts on the growing contretemps regarding the letter to “the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” penned by Senator Cotton…
Legal Flaws in the 47 Senators’ Letter to Iran
Since John Marshall stated in Congress in 1800 that the President is the sole representative of the United States “with foreign nations,” it has been widely understood…
Microsoft Case: The Government Responds, But Fails to Convince
The government has now filed its Second Circuit brief in the dispute with Microsoft (discussed here, here, and here), challenging key assertions by Microsoft and its many amici,…
Beyond Drones: The Next-Generation of Autonomous Weapons Cannot be Developed in Secrecy
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…
Case To Watch: Microsoft v. US on the Extraterritorial Reach of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
On Monday, the government will be filing its brief in its case against Microsoft regarding the reach of the government’s warrant authority under the Electronic Communications…