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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3,769 Articles
Cyber operations on mission in the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade operations center at Fort Meade, Md. U.S. Army Cyber Command. The room is covered with computer screens on desks as well as larger screens on the front wall. Each soldier appears to have three screens to their self.

Norm-Skepticism in Cyberspace? Counter-Factual and Counterproductive

Leading expert on international law and cyber responds to statement by Chief of US Naval Operations, Admiral Mike Gilday on international norms in cyberspace.
Iraqi anti-government protesters rest beneath graffiti at Tahrir Square as nationwide protests entered a third month on December 5, 2019, in Baghdad, Iraq. The graffiti art reads, “An idea cannot be destroyed,” and shows a police officer beating a dandelion. On the other side of the wall, there is an image of an injured person lying on a cloud while their blood rains down on people below.

After Soleimani Killing, Iran and Its Proxies Recalibrate in Iraq

Understanding the motivations and capabilities of leading Iranian-backed militia units is vital for an effective US and Iraqi response to likely violence in the coming months.
Exterior View of the new International Criminal Court building in The Hague on July 30, 2016 in The Hague The Netherlands.

No “State”-ing the Obvious for Palestine: Challenging the ICC Prosecutor on Territorial Jurisdiction

The judges have been tossed the hot statehood potato in a situation where neither the factual circumstances nor legal issues are sufficiently clear.
U.S. Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference following the bipartisan Senate vote on the War Powers Resolution on Iran with Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) at the U.S. Capitol on February 13, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Congress Speaks: Trump Currently Has No Authority to Launch War with Iran

The House and Senate have passed resolutions that say President Trump has no authority to take the country to war against Iran.
Afghan civil society activists attend a candlelight vigil for the nine civilians killed in Afghan army shelling, in Kabul on December 6, 2015.

Reduction of Civilian Harm in Afghanistan: A Way Forward

As all sides have jockeyed for leverage in Afghanistan, civilians have paid the price with over 10,000 civilian casualties in 2019.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir attends a meeting with his new 20-member cabinet as they take oath at the presidential palace in the capital on March 14, 2019.

Head of State Immunity is Too Important for the International Court of Justice

If the United Nations General Assembly, or another competent U.N. organ, simply requests an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, then its member States would…
Graphics depicting war powers reporting. The first graphic shows a map with certain regions highlighted in different shades of purple. Most are in Africa and the Middle East. The second graph is a circle with green lines extending to other areas of the circle.

New Online Resource: War Powers and Presidential Practice

"Intended for use by policymakers, legislators, scholars, journalists and the general public, the Project is an expansive new resource that analyzes the war powers reporting practice…
Sudanese protesters wait at a train station in Khartoum to board a train to Atbara on December 19, 2019 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of their protest movement that brought down Omar al-Bashir last April after a thirty-year rule.

Sudan Takes Two Big Steps toward Normalizing Relations: USS Cole and Bashir

Sudan’s transitional government took two significant steps toward improving its international standing and normalizing relations with the United States by first agreeing for…
Demonstrators holds up placards and banners while demonstrating, asking for Yahya Jammeh, the former President of the Gambia, to be brought to justice, in Banjul on January 25, 2020. One of the signs says, "No Place for Enforced Disappearance in Gambia."

Senators Call for Prosecution of Gambian Paramilitary Fighter in US Custody

Rare opportunity to criminally prosecute a person implicated in extremely grave human rights abuses in a U.S. court.
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (C) along with Army Commander Shavendra Silva (L) and Navy Chief Piyal De Silva stand to attention during Sri Lanka's 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2020.

U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Sri Lankan Military Leader

The U.S. State Department’s announcement of a travel ban on Sri Lankan Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army and acting chief of the Defense…
US soldiers gather around their military vehicles near Omar oil field in the eastern Syrian Deir Ezzor province on March 23, 2019.

Germany Goes 19th Century with New Statement on Law of Occupation — On Status of US Forces in Syria

Are U.S. forces in Syria “occupiers” under international law?
An Afghan orthopaedic technician makes artificial limbs in a workshop at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital for war victims and the disabled in Kabul.

When Professionalism Mattered: Dissent Against U.S. Policy on Landmines

President Trump's retaliation against principled dissenters and his jettisoning of longstanding U.S. policy on landmines converge in a look back to see how another administration…
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