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.
3,520 Articles
Evidence Unsealed in Colvin v. Syria
Media are reporting another chemical weapon attack in Syria (a summary of prior attacks is here). Notwithstanding these breaches of an indisputable international law rule, there…
Syria, Chemical Weapons, and a Qualitative Threshold for Humanitarian Intervention
An improved legal framework using a qualitative threshold—legitimizing humanitarian intervention against regimes that use chemical and biological weapons (CBW) on civilians—can…
Can the Int’l Criminal Court Try US Officials?–The Theory of “Delegated Jurisdiction” and Its Discontents (Part II)
Just Security is pleased to launch this online symposium–spearheaded by Professor Laura Dickinson–which is focused on the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe…
All Hands on Deck: Cyber Attacks Against Private Companies and International Law
Last Wednesday, reports surfaced that the U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing had been hit by a serious ransomware attack. A leaked internal memo suggested that some production equipment…
Can the Int’l Criminal Court Try US Officials?–The Theory of “Delegated Jurisdiction” and Its Discontents (Part I)
This backgrounder covers the key issues of jurisdiction now that the Court is set to open an investigation that may cover alleged torture by US officials.
Just Security’s Symposium on the ICC Afghanistan Probe and the US
Just Security is pleased to announce the launch of an online symposium dedicated to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe in Afghanistan and its implications for the…
Another Airstrike in Kunduz, and More Civilian Deaths
Once again, airstrikes targeting insurgent leaders in Afghanistan have killed and injured dozens of civilians. On the morning of April 2, Afghan government forces attacked the…
U.S. Federal Statute on Aiding and Abetting: War Crimes in Yemen – Part II
This piece is the second of two on U.S. operations in Yemen and the War Crimes Act, and the latest article in our forum on the Yemen crisis and the law. In September 2017, Ryan…
Civilian Casualties and Effectiveness of U.S. Drone Strikes in Yemen
This is the first of two articles on U.S. counterterrorism operations in Yemen. It also the latest in a new series we are producing in partnership Columbia Law School’s Human…
The US, the War in Yemen, and the War Crimes Act – Part I
Editor’s Note: This is the third piece in our forum on the Yemen crisis and the law. The United States has conducted extensive airstrikes in Yemen since 2011, against both al-Qaeda…
Zero Shades of Grey: Russian-Ops Violate International Law
A lot more is known since January 2017 when I wrote a piece for Just Security arguing that the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election should be interpreted as a violation…
An Athens and Sparta Alliance: A Call for Collaboration Between Academics and Practitioners on the Law Governing Conflict
The Assad regime appears to have again used chemical weapons, this time around eastern Ghouta. This war crime and violation of the law of armed conflict (LOAC) is yet another example…