International Law

Just Security offers expert analysis of international law and its role in addressing global challenges. Our coverage includes litigation in international and regional tribunals, the process of international law-making, analysis of compliance and accountability for international law violations–including international criminal justice, and challenges to the international legal order.

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The Surprisingly Broad Implications of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe for Human Rights Litigation and Extraterritoriality

In Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the question of corporate liability for human rights violations under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) for the third time.…
A human rights activist, dressed to resemble the now famous Abu Ghraib prison photo depicting an Iraqi prisoner being tortured, stands on a street corner during rush hour in front of the US Department of Justice 22 February 2005 in Washington, DC.

How the Biden Administration Should Take Torture-Derived Evidence Off the Table

In a decent legal system, the government does not ask courts to admit evidence derived from torture, nor does it press other arguments that disregard the absolute prohibition on…
An American flag hangs on a wall behind barbed wire.

State Secrets and the Torture of Abu Zubaydah

More than any case to have reached the Supreme Court, Abu Zubaydah’s case demonstrates the need to carefully scrutinize what information the Executive Branch can legitimately…
Noxious weeds grow around a Lake Mendocino boat ramp as the water level dropped to 29% capacity on June 2, 2021, near Ukiah, California.

A Pandemic Isn’t the Only Kind of “Catastrophic Risk.” It’s Time to Prepare More Seriously for the Next.

If any good is to come of this crisis, it must be an increased awareness of America’s vulnerability -- and what it takes to prepare.
A protester wearing a facemask as protection from the coronavirus takes part in a protest over the newly approved anti-terror law on July 4, 2020 in Quezon city, Metro Manila, Philippines. The protestor carries a sign reading, “Resist Terror Law! – Spark” and raises a fist in the air. Other protestors in the background also carry signs and wear face masks.

Opening Pandora’s Box: New “Threats” in the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

How should the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy respond to “new threats” of “terrorism"?
A phone screen shows a statement by Trump on May 5, 2021. Another screen in the background shows an image of Trump. The statement text reads, “What Facebook, Twitter, and Google have done is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to our country. Free Speech has been taken away from the President of the United States because the Radical Left Lunatics are afraid of the truth, but the truth will come out anyway, bigger and stronger than ever before. The People of our Country will not stand for it! These corrupt social media companies must pay a political price, and must never again be allowed to destroy and decimate our Electoral Process.”

For Facebook’s Sake: Getting Conversant with Human Rights

The Facebook Oversight Board decision on former President Trump has helped bring into sharper focus what international law scholars and lawyers have long understood: international…
A 3D hologram of the globe with circles and grids laid over to indicate communications and technology.

The Sixth United Nations GGE and International Law in Cyberspace

Top expert analysis of the much-anticipated report that provides consensus views among key States on the application of international law to cyberspace.
Officials inspect the damaged Karbala airport in the Iraqi shrine city, one of the areas targeted by US military air strikes. March 13, 2020

A Legacy of Unrecognized Harm: DoD’s 2020 Civilian Casualties Report 

The Pentagon report appears to defy the congressional requirement to report on civilian casualties “that were confirmed, or reasonably suspected, to have resulted in civilian…
An image of the globe with a light grid laid on top of it connecting people and countries.

Oxford Statement on International Law Protections in Cyberspace: The Regulation of Information Operations and Activities

The Internet has allowed the dissemination of content across the globe in a matter of seconds. Recommendation algorithms, found in social media platforms and search engines, have…
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz points to a projector screen showing targets hit by Israeli army in Gaza, during a press briefing in Jerusalem on May 31, 2021. He does not wear a face mask.

The 2021 Gaza War and the Limits of International Humanitarian Law

"As long as international humanitarian law is unable to acknowledge the structural injustice of the situation—the asymmetry, the horror—discussions of these cases in the technical…
View of the former clandestine detention and torture centre -the Argentine Army Mechanics School (ESMA) Officers Casino- now turned into the Memory and Human Rights Place, during the 45 th anniversary of the military coup, in Buenos Aires on March 24, 2021.

The Méndez Principles: Leadership to Transform Interrogation via Science, Law, and Ethics

New guidance points the way to scientifically sound, lawful, human rights-compliant, and effective practices.
People gather at a street corner during the Tulsa Race Massacre. Smoke billows from buildings down the block and all the buildings in the image are heavily damaged.

Controlling the Lens of History: From Tulsa to the Capitol Mob

(Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the hundredth anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, with more essays in the following days.)  The centennial…
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