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.
3,769 Articles
The IDF’s Unlawful Attack on Al Jalaa Tower
The IDF's reported view — that civilian apartments don't have to count in the legal analysis when taking such a strike — is flawed beyond repair, writes professor Adil Haque.…
Torture Evidence and the Guantanamo Military Commissions
Burying evidence of torture, while surreptitiously admitting the fruits of torture is not what a decent legal system does. Bringing to justice those accused of atrocious crimes…
Clearing the Fog of War Surrounding Battlefield Use of Tear Gas
The United States takes the (minority) view that international law does not prohibit the defensive use of tear gas in war - and that this could protect civilians - but the risks…
The Eroding Norms Against Chemical Weapons Use Will Need More Than Another Syria Censure to Survive
A challenge inspection and an expanded mandate for a new investigations team are among options to halt the global backsliding.
Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: The Need for an Inclusive Accountability
The Feb. 1 coup made it clear that when it comes to maintaining its grip on power, the Tatmadaw does not discriminate. The brutality with which it has consistently engaged with…
The US Should Respect the ICC’s Founding Mandate
An American Society of International Law task force recommends ways to improve the Court, but some of the advice seems to undermine the goal.
Dispatch from Israel on Human Shields: What I Should’ve Said to a Dad on the Playground
Who's responsible for the deaths of those civilians in Gaza who were near areas where Hamas operates?
Beyond the Coup in Myanmar: A Crisis Born from Impunity
The roots of the coup can be found both domestically, in the 2008 Constitution, and in the failure of the international community to hold Myanmar's military to account.
Yazidis Deserve Justice for Genocide: How Biden’s Team Can Lead the Way
Amal Clooney pens an article based off a speech delivered at the United Nations.
The ICC Ntaganda Appeals Judgment: The End of Indirect Co-perpetration?
The complex and contested indirect co-perpetration theory of liability remains under a cloud at the ICC.
The Hidden Rules that Govern Our Supply Chains
Despite the explosion in the use of hidden trade deals in recent years, Congress has only barely spoken to the problem. It doesn’t have to be that way. But proposed changes in…
The Illegality of Targeting Civilians by Way of Belligerent Reprisal: Implications for U.S. Nuclear Doctrine
It is time for the United States to acknowledge that customary international law today prohibits targeting civilians in reprisal for an adversary’s violations of the law of war.