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
Why What’s Happening to the Rohingya Is Genocide
If international law creates a right—or even a duty—to respond to massive rights violations, such a right—or duty—has long since been triggered in Myanmar.
Many Problems with Forever War: Being Too Humane Is Not One of Them
A challenge to the notion that increasing humanity in war is a bad thing from two people who work for a non-governmental organization devoted to the protection of civilians.…
What Happened in North Carolina: The State’s Role in U.S. Post-9/11 Rendition and Torture
The North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture (NCCIT) released its 83-page final report this week on the state’s role in U.S. post-9/11 rendition and torture. Drawing…
New U.K. Law Fails European Court Standards on Mass Interception Disclosed by Snowden
The U.K. government trots out its new surveillance legislation as curing the ills identified by the European Court of Human Rights. That's not the case. The Court’s judgment…
To Undermine the ICC, Bolton’s Targets Extend Way Beyond the Court
If the U.S. pressures states to sign new bilateral agreements shielding American personnel from the ICC, officials and civil society in those countries have options other than…
From Sweeping Punishment to Real Justice in Countering Terrorism
A study led by the United Nations University that examined punitive efforts in Iraq, Nigeria, and Somalia shows that too often, nonviolent associates of terror groups who may have…
Does Trump Have Legal Authority to Follow Through on John Bolton’s Threats to the Int’l Criminal Court?
Many observers have already written, on Just Security and elsewhere, of how National Security Advisor John Bolton’s predictable attack on the International Criminal Court…
Bolton, the ICC and the Rohingya
If the U.K. and the U.S. make it a priority, those responsible for the terrible crimes against the Rohingya could be held accountable. But now, with Bolton’s scathing remarks…
Post-9/11 Generation Reaches Enlistment Age in Unmoored ‘War on Terror’
Human Rights First International Legal Counsel Rita Siemion says it's long past time to ensure that war-based authorities are used only when specifically authorized by Congress…
Countries’ Reactions to Bolton’s Attack on the ICC
Here we lay out the reactions of different states that we’ve managed to gather so far after looking for statements by all 123 States Parties to the Rome Statute, as well as some…
Grading the Pompeo Certification on Yemen War and Civilian Protection: Time for Serious Reconsideration
Former State Department official (stepped down in May 2017) and top expert on civilian casualties and targeting operations analyzes the State Department's certification to Congress,…
The Legal Line Crossed in Bolton’s Attack on the ICC
National Security Adviser John Bolton’s Sept. 10 speech on U.S. policy towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) – prompted by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s impending…