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
Trump’s Explanation for His Administration’s Use of Military Force Due Today
As I discuss in a piece over at Defense One, today is the deadline for the Trump administration to provide a detailed explanation to Congress on its legal and policy basis for…
The Lesson the Trump Administration has Failed to Learn about Yemen
Both the Trump and Obama administrations have advanced two fictions over the last three years to obscure U.S. complicity in Yemen’s humanitarian catastrophe. From former Secretary…
The Trump Administration Should Publicly Disclose its New Policy on Lethal Force
On Monday, President Trump is required to submit a report to Congress setting out changes he’s made to US policy governing the use of military force in counterterrorism operations.…
A Year On, Fog of War Not Lifting Over Deadly Raqqa Strikes
In March 2017, a U.S.-led coalition aircraft struck a boarding school in Mansourah, Syria, completely destroying it. Since then, the coalition has maintained that the building…
Jesner v. Arab Bank Symposium Recap
Just Security has created a Jesner v. Arab Bank symposium index on its Deep Dives page. Jesner is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and presents the question of whether corporations…
Cyber Operations and the U.S. Definition of “Armed Attack”
[Ed. Note: Based on Goodman's remarks at U.S. Cyber Command’s Annual Legal Conference.]
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…
A widely accepted view of the UN Charter is that a State can use force…
Important Report by White House on National Security Due Soon
The executive branch owes it to Congress—and all of us—to deliver the answers Congress has demanded to do the critical job assigned to our national legislature and serve the…
Will the Next Use of Force “Transparency Report” be Transparent? Devil May be in Classified Details
Congress recently required the President to submit a report that describes the administration’s legal and policy positions on the use of military force and related national security…
Toby Cadman Rejoinder to Government of Bangladesh
On Jan. 31, I published an opinion piece on Just Security entitled “What Should the International Community do to Address Impunity in Bangladesh?” Mohammad Ziauddin, the ambassador…
Children, Military Courts and Occupation
The Ahed Tamimi case highlights a range of issues related to civilian trial in military courts, the obligations to minors by occupying powers, and the disparate treatment being…
Using U.S. Courts to Promote Accountability for the 1990 Liberian Church Massacre and Beyond
Between 1989 and 2003, civil war consumed the small West African nation of Liberia, resulting in the estimated deaths of 150,000 to 250,000 men, women and children, and the displacement…
Doe v. Mattis: Is the War on ISIS Legal?
Many members of Congress, including those who voted for the 2001 and 2002 AUMFs, feel they haven’t authorized the current fight against ISIS. Unless the executive branch prolongs…