International Law
International Human Rights Law
328 Articles
The Growing Divide Between European Governments and Regional Courts on Surveillance
Last week, as he delivered his first report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy made headlines with his sharp criticism of the United…
The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Geographical Scope of Human Rights Law
On January 21, a British investigation concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died…
The European Court of Human Rights Constrains Mass Surveillance (Again)
In a decision that may someday be considered the penultimate nail in the coffin that European courts have been building for mass surveillance, the European Court of Human Rights…
On Human Rights Day, One Year On: No Apology and No Accountability for US Torture
A year ago yesterday, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a redacted version of the executive summary of its exhaustive report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation…
European Human Rights Court Deals a Heavy Blow to the Lawfulness of Bulk Surveillance
In a seminal decision updating and consolidating its previous jurisprudence on surveillance, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights took a sideways swing at mass…
The Special Rapporteur on Torture’s Report on Extraterritoriality Speaks to Migrant Crisis
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan E. Méndez, has issued a new expert’s report (his 17th)—this one on extraterritoriality. (JustSecurity’s extensive…
Amb. Stephen Rapp on Sri Lanka’s War Crimes Investigation
At the end of August, the United States announced that it would support Sri Lanka’s plan for investigating alleged war crimes that occurred during the final years of the country’s…
Uncomfortable Conversations in Geneva
The United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) is currently holding its annual session in Geneva to consider the reports submitted by states setting out their adherence to the…
The US Must Ensure Umm Sayyaf Is Not Subjected to Human Rights Abuses
Umm Sayyaf, the wife of a suspected high-ranking ISIL member, is back in the news at The Daily Beast. US special operations forces captured Sayyaf in Syria in May and brought her…
10 Questions about the UK Spying on Amnesty International
Yesterday, the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal informed Amnesty International that British intelligence agency GCHQ had spied on the human rights organization by intercepting…
Britain’s Al-Saadoon Case: A Matter of Human Rights Law and the use of Military Force Overseas
In March, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales found that the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) can be activated extraterritorially…
Polish Outrage to Paying Victims of CIA Black Sites—and What the Eur Court Said
Poland will be paying a quarter of a million dollars to two Guantánamo detainees, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The payment arises in the context of the torture of…