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.
3,521 Articles
COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Treatment of Detainees
Prisoners are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 – especially in a war zone. What obligations do combatants have to prisoners of war and other detainees during a pandemic?…
How to Restore Ethics to the U.S. Department of State
The task demands accountability for the ethical scandals that have occurred at State during the Trump administration and a public commitment to rebuilding the infrastructure, including…
A Landmark Report on Starvation as a Method of Warfare
On the 5th of October, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, established in 2016 with a view to monitoring human rights and facilitating transitional justice in the country,…
COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Humanitarian Access
As COVID-19 spreads unchecked in war-torn areas around the world, the international humanitarian law principle of humanitarian access has become more urgent than ever. Local health…
Human Shields and Proportionality: How Legal Experts Defended War Crimes in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan Civil War constitutes an unprecedented case in terms of the number of people who were framed as human shields and the mobilization of prominent human rights…
The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Exercise of “Self-Defense” to Recover Occupied Land
The fighting raised a fundamental but surprisingly overlooked question of international law on the use of force.
COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Conduct of Hostilities
Airstrikes on hospitals. Targeting medical personnel. Cutting off water supplies. Respect for IHL rules is as essential as ever during a pandemic. How do principles of distinction,…
COVID-19 and International Law Series: Introduction
States’ responses to COVID-19 are governed by international law; likewise, State responses will impact these rules and norms. What are the legal constraints on State action to…
Anticipating the Human Costs of Great Power Conflict
Conspicuously absent from policy and planning documents about great power conflict is a clear-eyed assessment of the likely human costs of such a conflict or considerations for…
National Security This Week at the United Nations (Oct 30-Nov 6)
“Unwavering Support” for ICC Amid U.S. Sanctions 72 countries at the U.N. on Monday offered their “unwavering support” for the International Criminal Court…
Saudi Arabia’s MBS Served with Extrajudicial Killing Lawsuit – Via WhatsApp
Electronic service of process -- including via social media -- has become an increasingly common practice. Gone are the days of the pizza delivery ruse.
Plan to Pull U.S. Troops from Somalia is Cold Comfort Amid Civilian Toll of Air War
AFRICOM insists its aim is to ‘degrade’ al-Shabaab. But the US military campaign is taking a heavy toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure.