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

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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.

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…

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."

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?

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…

Anniversary of Genocidal Attacks on Rohingya Reminds Us They Are Still at Risk
"We come together as a Rohingya woman and a descendant of Holocaust survivors to reckon with the unconscionable crimes the Rohingya community has faced, and affirm the obligations…

The UN Charter’s Original Effect on State Sovereignty and the Use of Force
In 1945, not all states were UN members and not all territories were states: Dehn explains how use of force and self-defense rights under the Charter reflect these different statuses…