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 Constitutionality of Non-Specific Pardons
What the Framers' understanding and subsequent presidential practice tell us.

Biden Must Stick to His Pledge to End US Support for the Yemen War
The war in Yemen is a global mark of shame, and the resulting humanitarian disaster threatens the lives of 24 million people.

National Security Last Week at the United Nations (Dec 4 – Dec 11)
Ethiopia’s Forces Fire On, Detain U.N. Personnel; UNHCR Voices Alarm Ethiopia’s security forces shot at and detained U.N. staffers as they tried to reach part of the embattled…

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Judicial Activism, Corporate Exceptionalism, and the Puzzlement of Nestlé v. Doe
Congress has amended the Alien Tort Statute only three times. Yet judicial interpretation has significantly limited the statute's reach through "shadow amendments" to the text.…

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Reforming the World Health Organization
[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 World Health Organization…

Polish Government’s Attacks on Rule of Law Violate Not Only EU Norms but International Law
The repeated violations of fundamental rights and principles corrode the very foundations of the democracy Poland fought so hard to win.

We Can’t “Look Forward” on the Trump Administration’s Abuses
When President-elect Joe Biden takes office in January, he will confront a national economic crisis and a still out-of-control pandemic. He will also face questions about how to…

The UDHR, Digital Authoritarianism, and Human Rights after Trump
"A simple return to an imagined world of pre-Trump human rights is not enough."

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Holding the Aiders and Abettors of Atrocity to Account
Do the Alien Tort Statute and Torture Victim Protection Act apply to those who aid in atrocities? Human rights groups - who use the statutes to prosecute these crimes - say yes.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: WHO’s Pandemic Response and the International Health Regulations
[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.] International law has long regulated…

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…