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.

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3,699 Articles
An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) flies by during a training mission at Creech Air Force Base on November 17, 2015 in Indian Springs, Nevada.

An Enduring Impasse on Autonomous Weapons

Are existing international laws sufficient or are new legal rules needed to codify the “human element” in the use of force?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, without a face mask, speaks to reporters following a meeting with members of the UN Security Council about Iran's alleged non-compliance with a nuclear deal and calling for the restoration of sanctions against Iran at United Nations headquarters in New York, August 20, 2020.

The US “Snapback” Against Iran – Bad Politics and Flawed Law

One of the most eminent former US Ambassadors issues 9-page memorandum challenging the US government's position on the Iran nuclear deal.
A young boy walks in front of a grafittied wall spelling out the symptoms of and ways to avoid Coronavirus in Mathare informal settlement on July 10, 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Access to Information During a Pandemic – A Matter of Life or Death

Sept. 28 marks the first International Day for Universal Access to Information. As the pandemic reveals, access to timely and accurate information has never been more vital. And…
Pakistani children and activists carry placards during a peace walk to mark Human Rights Day in Karachi on December 9, 2012. Signs read, "Do you know your human rights?" and "Human Right #26 The Right to Education"

Reclaiming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the Pompeo Commission – Part 2

The panel's lengthy exegesis of the Declaration contains at least six glaring omissions that have real-world consequences.
A monitor displays the words Commission on Unalienable Rights behind Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he speaks without a face mask during a news conference at the State Department in Washington,DC on July 15, 2020.

Reclaiming Human Rights from the Pompeo Commission – Part 1

Its report displays an interpretative sneakiness, invoking the “founding era” and “founding principles” in a highly selective and under-inclusive way.
Professor of practice at Syracuse University College of Law David Crane, United Nations Representative from France Gerard Araud, and forensic pathologist Dr. Stuart Hamilton give a report on the allegations of torture in Syria at the United Nations on April 15, 2014 in New York City.

The Netherlands’ Action Against Syria: A New Path to Justice

Cases such as one in Germany to address individual criminal responsibility are insufficient on their own to address the scope of the documented criminality.
Protesters demonstrate against the war in Yemen and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi outside the Saudi Arabian embassy on October 25, 2018 in London, England. A sign reads, "Justice for Jamal."

The Verdict in the Khashoggi Murder Isn’t Final By Any Stretch

The world must show MBS, Putin, the IRGC, and other would-be princely assassins the heavy price they will pay for murdering their citizens abroad. 
Abortion rights activists rally in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on May 21, 2019. Signs read, "Safe abortion is a human right" and "Keep abortion legal."

UN Experts to Trump Administration: Reproductive Rights are Human Rights

It is crucial to call out US efforts to undermine the UN human rights system and erase the well-established framework of rights protections.
Members of the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in the British Zone of Germany walk past mass graves at Bergen-Belsen on the opening day of the Second Congress of Liberated Jews in the British zone, April 1947.

Asserting Their Jewish Identity: My Mother’s Testimony in the First Nazi War Crimes Trial, 75 Years Ago

A prosecutor in the Belsen Trial initially obscured the specific identity of the victims. That would change dramatically by the end.
A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), awaits a mission at an air base in the Persian Gulf region on January 7, 2016.

What a Few Cakes Say About the US Drone Program

Fondant creations on cakes - yes cakes - provide a rare window into a largely closed culture of national security policymaking. Their creation in 2013, publication, and re-emergence…
Boys lay on top of one another at an overcrowded Juveniles’ cell at Tal Kayf prison in April 2019.

How to Answer Iraq’s Failure to Put a Stop to Torture

Parliament should ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. Short of that, Prime Minister al-Kadhimi can take action.
Former Salvadoran colonel and Defense Deputy Minister Inocente Montano wears a face mask before the start of his trial related to the murder of six Spanish Jesuit priests and two collaborators in 1989, in Madrid on June 08, 2020.

Breaking: Colonel Montano, Extradited from the United States, Found Guilty of the Jesuits Massacre by Spanish Court

UPDATE: The judgment is available here (in Spanish). A Spanish court has convicted Colonel Inocente Orlando Montano for his role in the 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests, their…
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