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
Guantanamo’s COVID-19 Precautions Must Safeguard Detainees’ Rights
Even if the virus does not reach the detainees, some of the precautions that Guantanamo is taking could at once undermine detainees’ rights, including access to counsel, and…
China’s Responsibility for the Global Pandemic
The world is now grappling with an unprecedented case of transboundary harm that originated in China: the still-growing global COVID-19 pandemic. This essay considers how the international…
COVID-19 and International Law: Must China Compensate Countries for the Damage?
Top international health law expert discusses: Did China violate its legal obligations under the International Health Regulations? Would Beijing have to financially compensate…
Cyber Attacks against Hospitals and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Strong are International Law Protections?
Experts have already warned of indications that some “coronavirus-themed cyberattack campaigns” may have been carried out by States. At this stage, however, no such allegation…
Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations
While it seems clear that international human rights norms apply to corporations just as they apply to natural persons. But it is up to each nation to decide whether and how to…
COVID-19 and Humanitarian Access in Starvation-Affected Countries: Part 1 – Yemen
The blanket denial of appropriate humanitarian aid distribution and personnel access by parties to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, could exacerbate…
Is Pompeo Unintentionally Helping Out the International Criminal Court?
While likely doing little to dissuade those at the ICC and elsewhere who are committed to seeking accountability for the United States’ previous rendition and torture program,…
Turkey’s Humanitarian Rationale for its Idlib Offensive in Syria
The legality of forcible humanitarian intervention is the subject of great debate. But the situation in Idlib over the past year had grown catastrophic.
It’s Time Iraq Accepts Legal Responsibility for Its Iran-Backed Militias
Legal reform of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs) would have a more durable effect on these hostile militias than a few US air strikes.
Repatriating Foreign Fighters from Syria: International Law and Political Will (Part 2)
The detention conundrum: States rely on non-state groups for counterterrorism operations, but they are simultaneously reluctant to accept the return of terrorists captured and…
The U.S.-Taliban Agreement: Not a Ceasefire, or a Peace Agreement, and Other International Law Issues
Beatrice Walton explains the continuing lack of clarity concerning the terms of the recent Afghan peace deal and its potential effects moving forward.
Former Officials Challenge Pompeo’s Threats to the International Criminal Court
A statement by former U.S. Ambassadors for War Crimes and U.S. Chief Prosecutors.