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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3,769 Articles

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe: What’s Not in the Supreme Court’s Opinions

The Court ruled out extraterritorial application of the Alien Tort Statute. But on other key questions -- including corporate liability, secondary liability, and the status of…
Egypt's interim prime minister Hazem Beblawi gives an interview to a journalist from the Agence France-Presse at his office in Cairo on November 24, 2013 as Egypt's interim president approved a controversial law regulating demonstrations. The Egyptian flag stands behind his chair.

Parsing an Immunity Decision at the Heart of U.S.-Egypt Relations  

A suit between a US citizen and the former PM of Egypt raises sticky questions of diplomatic immunity - and tees up a potential constitutional clash between the executive and judiciary.…
Bosnian families follow the final verdict hearing of the former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic also known as the "Butcher of Bosnia" in the ethnic cleansing case by the International Criminal Tribunal, from a screen at Srebrenica Genocide Memorial in Potocari in Srebrenica, Bosnia And Herzegovina on June 08, 2021.

The Mladić Appeal Judgment and the Enduring Legacy of the Hague Tribunals

The Mladić case offers an opportunity to assess not only the judgment itself, but also the legacy of the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
A pillar of smoke rises among destroyed buildings after a US-led airstrike in Mosul. July 9, 2017

Toward a True Account of Collateral Damage in U.S. Military Operations

The Pentagon reports annually on how many civilians were killed in U.S. operations, but silent on damage to civilian homes, markets and other civilian infrastructure vital to human…
The Courtroom of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg with empty chairs. A banner at the front reads, “European Court of Human Rights” and the carpet in front of the bench shows the circle of stars against blue such as is on the European Union flag.

The Méndez Principles: A Focus on the Exclusionary Rule

To eliminate interrogation abuses, consistently bar all information gained via torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
A displaced Syrian family breaks their fast together for the sunset "iftar" meal during Ramadan. They sit in the middle of the rubble of their destroyed home. May 4, 2020, Ariha, Idlib province

The UN Has Options Beyond the Security Council for Cross-Border Aid to Syria

Security Council approval for cross-border aid expires July 10. Can the UN continue aid operations without Council authorization?
An Ehiopian woman, who fled the Ethiopia's Tigray conflict as a refugee, sits on a water container at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, on December 1, 2020. Other refugees walk or stand nearby, some also carrying water containers. The sun crosses the horizon in the background casting the people in the photo as silhouettes.

With Deliberate Famine Threatening Millions, Tigray Demands Greater Action from the US

As a man-made famine endangers millions of lives, it is urgent the Biden administration intensify pressure on the Ethiopian government beyond the sanctions it has already put in…
Supreme Court Building

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"?
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