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.
3,699 Articles
Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: In Oral Arguments, Justices Weigh Liability for Chocolate Companies
U.S. corporations, including Nestle and Cargill, may face massive liability under the Alien Tort Statute for aiding and abetting slavery abroad. But does the ATS support such liability?…
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and its Limited Impact on the Legality of their Use
On October 24, 2020, following Honduras’ ratification, the UN announced the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) would enter into force on January 22, 2021. Accompanying…
A Commander’s Duty to Punish War Crimes: Past U.S. Recognition
A comprehensive, sweeping analysis of "the United States’ own long-standing views that a commander’s failure to punish war crimes by his subordinates may itself amount to war…
COVID-19 and International Law Series: Vaccine Theft, Disinformation, the Law Governing Cyber Operations
Ongoing cyberattacks on vaccine production and distribution systems, such as those discovered by IBM yesterday, may threaten efforts to fight COVID-19. But do they break international…
Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: The Economic Folly of Human Trafficking for American Business
The threat of liability under the Alien Tort Statute (such as the Nestlé/Cargill suit) costs businesses money – that's just cold economic reality. Or is it? Amici in the case,…
Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: A Canadian Perspective – Takeaways from Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya.
As the U.S. Supreme Court wrestles with corporate immunity for human rights abuses abroad, they may find a parallel Canadian case – in which the Supreme Court of Canada opened…
Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Rethinking the Alien Tort Statute
Tuesday's Supreme Court argument tackled thorny questions of extraterritoriality, customary international law, and corporate liability. But were any of these questions necessary?…
Part III: What Kinds of Situations and Cases Should the ICC Pursue? The Independent Expert Review of the ICC and the Question of Aperture
The third and final part of this series examines two additional factors that have widened the ICC's aperture, cautions that narrowing the Court's aperture may not always be desirable,…
COVID-19 and International Law Series: States’ Obligations to Refugees and Migrants in Detention
Whether informally quarantined in camps or formally confined in overcrowded detention centers, refugees and migrants in detention are extraordinarily vulnerable in a pandemic.…
Part II: What Kinds of Situations and Cases Should the ICC Pursue? The Independent Expert Review of the ICC and the Question of Aperture
What does it mean in practice for the ICC to be a court of last resort? How should the Office of the Prosecutor assess whether there have been genuine national efforts at accountability,…
Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Toward a Harmonized Test for Complicity of Corporate Officials?
[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series on the consolidated cases of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I and Cargill Inc. v. Doe I, which was argued before…
COVID-19 and International Law: Refugee Law – The Principle of Non-Refoulement
[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series, COVID and International Law. All articles in the series can be found here.] The threat posed by COVID-19 has…