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.
3,695 Articles
The Status of Guantanamo 17 Years In
Seventeen years ago today, the United States brought twenty Afghan men, alleged to be members of the Taliban or al-Qaeda, to its Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Images of the…
A Congo War Crimes Decision: What It Means for Universal Jurisdiction Litigation in Germany and Beyond
The German Federal Court of Justice, the country's court of last resort in criminal and private law, recently announced its much-anticipated decision in a Congo War Crimes case.…
Annotation of the Pentagon Report to Congress on Detainee Abuse by U.S. Partners in Yemen
In a mere two pages of carefully parsed prose, DoD has provided what can only be described as a deliberately misleading and deceptively evasive account of U.S. and Emirati actions…
U.S. Air Strike Data from Afghanistan Takes Step Back in Transparency
The U.S. military has stopped publishing important information on its air war in Afghanistan, just two months after deciding to release it. In October, the U.S. began publishing…
The Self-Defeating Absence of the U.S. at the U.N. Business and Human Rights Forum
Just before gathering in Argentina for the G-20 Summit in early December, many global leaders met first in Geneva for the annual United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.…
Dueling Decisions at the Khmer Rouge Trials Could Mean a Suspect Avoids Justice
Hot-on-the-heels of a landmark trial judgment in Case 2/2, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) (also known as the Khmer Rouge Trials) in recent days issued…
The “ISIS Beatles” and “Non-Territorial” Application of the European Convention of Human Rights
The “ISIS Beatles” litigation in UK courts raises important issues about the geographic reach and content of human rights obligations, in particular those in the European Convention…
Beyond Killing: The Critical Role of Gender in the Recognition, Prevention and Punishment of Genocide
“When we have the unique capabilities to help avert a massacre, then I believe the United States of America cannot turn a blind eye. We can act, carefully and responsibly,…
Amid US Attacks, Time to Reinvigorate the ICC
At a time when “multilateralism” is a bad word, perhaps no institution is more scorned than the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose global ambitions, legal justifications…
How Far Can a Rogue Kremlin Push International Law?
The Russian-Ukrainian standoff at the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov shows that the Kremlin now is just ignoring international law. The United States and the West need to adjust…
10 Ways the U.S. Can Curb Interpol Abuses
Interpol serves a good purpose, and it has good rules. But not all members are as good as its rules. The U.S. can take steps, on its own or with others, to limit abuses and shield…
U.S. Lethal Operations in Somalia Are On the Rise. But Are They Effective?
A deep-rooted ideology cannot be defeated with bombs dropped from the sky. What is needed is a real shift in strategy.