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.
3,521 Articles

D.C. Circuit Considers Limits on Guantanamo Detention
The court will hear oral arguments today in Abdul Razak Ali v. Trump on the central question of whether the Due Process Clause applies to limit the length of detention at Guantanamo…

The Specter of Interventionism is Haunting Latin America
A series of coordinated moves - OAS decisions, UN debates, declarations to the press by senior U.S. officials, and the revival of the Rio Treaty - are building a narrative towards…

Trump’s Aim to Go Big on Nuclear Arms Control Should Begin by Extending New START
If President Trump actually seeks to avoid an arms race, maintain a cap on the Russian nuclear arsenal, and create the conditions for follow-on talks with Russia and new negotiations…

Next Steps in Liberia’s Long Quest for Justice, 10 Years After Commission Report
A full decade after Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended establishment of a war crimes court to seek justice for atrocities during the country's 14 years of…

9/11 Case: Military Commission Convening Authority to Be Called as a Witness as to His Own Bias
W. Shane Cohen, the current judge presiding over the 9/11 case at Guantánamo Bay, has ordered the compulsion of testimony from the Office of Military Commissions’ convening…

The Spencer Standoff with Trump over Gallagher Distracts from the Navy’s Real Problems
Focusing on Trump’s many faults in the Gallagher case obscures something even more troubling: the Navy has serious problems right now and its former leader, recently fired Secretary…

National Security at the United Nations This Week
Security Council members condemn US policy shift on Israeli settlements, a Russia-sponsored cyber agreement that could pave the way for more Internet censorship moves forward,…

Accountability for Crimes Against the Rohingya Being Pressed on Multiple Fronts
By any measure, last week was a banner one when it comes to moving towards accountability for crimes against the Rohingya in Myanmar. The week started with The Gambia filing a…

Assessing the New U.S. “View” on the Legality of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
In his remarks to the press yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the following with respect to the settlement of Israeli civilians in the West Bank. I’ve highlighted…

To Watch “For Sama” Is To Bear Witness
“To try and live a normal life in this place is to stand against the regime.” Those are the words of Waad al-Kateab, a young filmmaker and mother, who chronicles her life in…

National Security at the United Nations: The Latest
Myanmar taken to ICJ over genocide of Rohingya, IAEA reports further Iranian steps away from JCPOA, UN experts find al-Shabaab a potent threat despite U.S. air strikes, the UN…

Turkey’s Syria Invasion: German Research Report Says Illegal on All Counts
A German parliamentary research report serves as an important reminder that evidence and proportionality matter, and that exceptions to the prohibition of the use of force should…