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.
3,512 Articles
As UN Renews Peacekeeping in Mali, Civilian Protection Requires Ongoing Push for Air Assets
The mission is missing critical military helicopters it needs in several locations to carry out its recently expanded mandate.
The ICC Wants Justice But Has No Mandate
The recent escalation in the ongoing conflict between the United States and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is as unfortunate as it is predictable, having come to a head…
The United Nations Charter at 75: Between Force and Self-Defense — Part Two
A more complete view of the UN Charter explains why there are no unwritten exceptions to the prohibition of force.
The United Nations Charter at 75: Between Force and Self-Defense — Part One
As we celebrate the Charter’s seventy-fifth birthday, a deep dive into its negotiating history shows that the right of self-defense under Article 51 is triggered by an act of…
Draft “Murad Code” Aims to Improve Investigations of Sexual Violence in Conflict
The guidelines respond to troubling past practices that made investigations ineffective, re-traumatizing, unnecessarily duplicative, and a security risk.
National Security at the United Nations This Week (June 12-19)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
How Inter-State Procedures in Human Rights Treaties Can Support the Black Lives Matter Movement
The initiation of inter-State conciliation proceedings alone, under either convention, could send a powerful and symbolic message about the need for reform. The Conventions provide…
New Developments in ICRC Commentaries to the POW Convention
On Tuesday, June 16 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched its updated Commentary to the Geneva Convention III Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War…
Trump’s ICC EO Will Undercut All U.S. Sanctions Programs—Is That Why Treasury Isn’t Conspicuously on Board?
The risks posed by the new U.S. sanctions program aimed at the ICC extend beyond the Court, its employees, and its supporters.
Dissecting the Executive Order on Int’l Criminal Court Sanctions: Scope, Effectiveness, and Tradeoffs
An expert breakdown of what's in President Trump's executive order, how it works exactly, and what comes next.
The Self-Defeating Executive Order Against the International Criminal Court
"I know because I used to make this theoretical international law argument...on behalf of the U.S. Government many years ago."
Ali Kushayb’s Arrest Highlights the Other Side of the U.S.–ICC Relationship
There has been a lot happening over the past couple of weeks, at home and abroad. So it would have been easy to miss the news that earlier this week, Ali Kushayb, a Sudanese war…