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
What if a President Committed Genocide or Other Atrocity Crimes?
Ambassador David Scheffer writes: Whether or not the Justice Department opinions are correct about presidential immunity from indictment for ordinary crimes … Lawmakers should…
The Once and Future Threat of Nuclear Weapon Testing
Some Trump administration officials have signaled hostility to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and an interest in the United States resuming nuclear weapon testing, which could…
Protections Fall for Vietnamese Immigrants as Trump Pushes Deportations
The Trump administration has reinterpreted a 2008 agreement with Vietnam in multiple ways to expand the categories of refugees it can deport. The effort appears to have affected…
U.S. Sanctions Against Iran’s Foreign Minister and International Law
Sanctions against a foreign minister are a provocation that impede diplomacy. Their legality under international law also turns out to be a complex issue.
Second Circuit Gets Civil Forfeiture under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Wrong
Are foreign states and their property immune from civil forfeiture suits brought by the U.S.? In a case involving a Manhattan skyscraper controlled by Iran, the Second Circuit…
“Fiat Justitia”: Implications of a Canadian Military Justice Decision for International Justice
A watershed ruling by Canada's Supreme Court sheds light on compliance of military justice systems with human rights norms.
Part III: The Muddy Middle: A New Framework for Use of Force
We may not have wanted to land in this muddy middle between peace and war that we currently find ourselves in, but this is the reality of the current moment in the counterterrorism…
Proportionality and 150 Iranian Lives: Do They “Count”?
General (ret.) Ken Watkin explains why assessing civilian casualties in the jus ad bellum proportionality analysis is the right approach.
Part II: The Muddy Middle: Challenges of Applying Use of Force Policy Guidance in Practice
In part two of a three-part series, the authors explain how new operational models for both why and how the U.S. used force outside areas of active hostilities created tensions…
The Muddy Middle: The Disappearing Lines in America’s Counterterrorism Wars and How to Restore Order
In three articles, the authors explain how the lines have blurred between U.S. military operating procedures for use of force in hot war zones versus outside areas of active hostilities…
To the 2020 Candidates: As President, Would You Prevent Another Genocide?
Two types of questions — asking about a specific country context or a broad use-of-force policy — have guided debates on the national stage about the U.S. role in atrocity…
U.S. Has Legal and Moral Responsibility to Protect Civilians at Rukban in Syria
With the U.S. in control of the at-Tanf region of Syria, both international humanitarian law and basic morality dictate that the U.S. ensure vital supplies reach the civilians…