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
A protester holds a sign reading, “End Torture” at a rally to "demand Congressional action to stop torture" on Capitol Hill March 10, 2008 in Washington, DC.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Uphold the Prohibition on Torture

A full reckoning for state-sanctioned American torture remains unfinished. The Obama administration took important steps towards fulfilling US obligations but fell short of what…

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: End Unlawful, Secret, and Unaccountable Use of Lethal Force

A core component of post-9/11 counterterrorism policy has been the use of secretive and unaccountable killings of terrorism suspects. The killings must stop. Here's how the president…
US Army guards watch over detainees at Camp Delta, 12 September 2002, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Close Guantanamo and End Indefinite Detention

Closing Guantanamo responsibly is not an intractable problem, the checkered history of prior efforts notwithstanding. It can be done, and in relatively short order, if decision-making…
Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Toward a New Approach to National and Human Security: Introduction

One year from today marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11. A president addressing the nation on such a solemn occasion should be able to tell the American people not only that there…
Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales at the South Portico of the White House on December 17, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The Disturbing Links in Trump’s Transactional Foreign Policy: A New Post-Mortem on Guatemala’s Impunity Commission

It’s a riveting — if demoralizing — quid pro quo story, and proof positive of the way corruption begets corruption and autocrats find solace in each other.
Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre (C) and Salvatore Girone (L) arrive with Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli (R) at Ciampino airport near Rome, on December 22, 2012.

Part 2 – Tanker, Jailer, Soldier, Sailor: Functional Immunity and the Enrica Lexie Award

At the heart of the Enrica Lexie dispute-- a clash between an Italian tanker and an Indian fishing boat-- lies a question of jurisdictional immunity: was India barred from exercising…
Neomi Rao, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The D.C. Circuit, Conspiracy, and the Guantanamo Military Commissions: Third Time’s the Charm?

Eleven years since Congress authorized the third generation of post-9/11 Guantanamo military commissions, the substantive law governing them remains in doubt. The case of Bahlul…
International Criminal Court's prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (L) shakes hands in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands, on July 8, 2019.

A Test for the US Posture on the Int’l Criminal Court: “Safe Harbor” Licenses?

A US willingness to consider mitigation will signal the true intent of sanctions against the ICC prosecutor and a division director.
Italian marines Massimiliano Latorre (C) and Salvatore Girone (L) arrive with Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli (R) at Ciampino airport near Rome, on December 22, 2012.

Part 1 – Tanker, Jailer, Soldier, Sailor: Functional Immunity and the Enrica Lexie Award

At the heart of the Enrica Lexie dispute-- a clash between an Italian tanker and an Indian fishing boat-- lies a question of jurisdictional immunity: was India barred from exercising…
A woman carries jerry cans to fill them up with water at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp for the displaced where families of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters are held, in the al-Hasakeh governorate in northeastern Syria on December 9, 2019.

Despite US Veto, Desperate ISIS Suspects and Families Remain at Risk

There is good news and bad news from the recent UN Security Council vote on a dangerously flawed draft resolution on so-called “foreign terrorist fighters."
Pompeo speaks unmasked at a press conferenece on September 2, 2020.

Why Them? On the U.S. Sanctions Against Int’l Criminal Court Officials

What messages is the United States sending by targeting Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko in particular?
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) holds a joint news conference on the International Criminal Court with US Attorney General William Barr, at the State Department in Washington, DC, on June 11, 2020.

The Int’l Criminal Court Executive Order: Global Reactions Compiled

With the Trump administration poised to issue sanctions under its new executive order aimed at the ICC, Beth Van Schaack gathers key global reactions to the order and identifies…
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