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

Is the ICC Making a Difference?
Global criminal justice is hardly an abstract concept. Just ask Radko Mladic, who was just found guilty of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International…

Trump’s Opportunity to Keep Up with Obama on Use of Force Transparency
One year ago, today, the Obama administration released a 66-page report detailing the legal and policy framework governing the use of military force and related national security…

The ICC’s Afghanistan Investigation: What’s at Stake for the U.S.?
The United States faces a tough predicament: How best to navigate the recent decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor to seek to commence an investigation…

Sanctions No More: Slouching Toward Normalization with Sudan?
October and November saw major shifts in U.S. foreign policy towards Sudan, despite the Sudanese government’s abysmal human rights record and the International Criminal Court’s…

Iran Policy Implications of Replacing Tillerson with Pompeo and Cotton to CIA
The White House has created a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, and then nominate Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to replace Pompeo…

DOJ Evades the Key Question in the Case of the Unnamed Citizen Detainee
On Thursday morning, in the ACLU Foundation v. Mattis case, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the government to inform the court by 5:00 p.m. whether the unnamed U.S. citizen detainee…

The Secret Ruling That Broke the Guantanamo Military Commissions
Sixteen years after Sept. 11, 2001, and 17 years after two suicide bombers killed 17 sailors aboard the USS Cole, the death penalty trials of the Guantanamo detainees accused of…

Corporate Criminal Accountability for International Crimes
Above: Flickr/The International Criminal Court Ed. note. This post is the latest in our series on the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case Jesner. v. Arab Bank, a case with implications…
Episode 47 of the National Security Law Podcast: Donuts and Depth Charges
And…we’re back! Fresh off of Thanksgiving, Professor Chesney and I are (all too) fired up to discuss the latest national security law news (not to mention a bunch of stuff…

The Long Arm of Justice: Ratko Mladić’s Conviction Should Keep Perpetrators of Atrocities Awake at Night
Today Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb General, was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide, crimes against humanity…

International Law is Meant to Prevent What’s Happening in Yemen–On Humanitarian Relief Operations and Starvation
Every day brings worse news from Yemen. This morning, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that water and sewage systems in three cities in Yemen – Hodeidah,…

Congress Steps Up Accountability for Drones Strikes and Other Military Operations
On the same day that The New York Times Magazine published a disturbing account of the monumental gap between the number of acknowledged civilian casualties and the number of casualties…