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.
3,512 Articles

What’s Going on at Gitmo?
Big news out of Guantánamo today: Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker, the chief defense counsel for the Military Commissions, was found guilty of contempt and sentenced to 21 days confinement…

Episode 43 of the National Security Law Podcast: Unseal this Podcast!
It’s been a busy week in national security law! In Episode 43, Professor Bobby Chesney and I take on: Mueller-Time: Indictments against Manafort and Gates, and an even-more important…

Can Defense Counsel Ever Be Lawfully Surveilled by the Government?
David Luban’s essay (“Indefensible: Why Guantánamo defense lawyers can’t ethically participate any longer”) presents an excellent rendition of most of the ethics rules…

Cyber, Sovereignty, and North Korea–And the Risk of Inaction
Americans, and people throughout the world, are becoming increasingly aware that there are significant vulnerabilities in the Internet, and that there are malicious actors who…

Jesner Oral Arguments, Justice-by-Justice
Ed. Note: This article is the latest in our series on the U.S. Supreme Court case Jesner v. Arab Bank, a case that is slated to resolve the question of whether corporations can…

Corporations Should be Held Liable for Violations of the Law of Nations
Ed. note. This article is the latest in our series on the U.S. Supreme Court case Jesner. v. Arab Bank, a case that is slated to resolve the question of whether corporations can…

Trump Should Release His New Lethal Force Policy
In an important new development, President Donald Trump has reportedly signed new rules for when lethal force can be used against suspected terrorists outside of active war zones.…

The Guantánamo Ethics Mess
The latest episode in the Military Commission’s efforts to try Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri for the U.S.S. Cole bombing is a dramatic dispute between Air Force Col. Vance Spath,…
Recap of Recent Pieces on Just Security (Oct. 21-27)
Russia Investigation and Facebook Ryan Goodman, Top Experts: Can Facebook Legally Disclose Russian Ads–What does the Stored Communications Act say? Artin Afkhami, Former Federal…

The Importance of Professional Expertise in Gathering Evidence of Mass Atrocities
Justice for core international crimes committed in places like Syria is currently non-existent. Yet, should our frustration with this lack of accountability lead us to alter widely-accepted…

The Original Meaning of the Alien Tort Statute
At oral argument in Jesner v. Arab Bank, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch raised a theory about the about the original meaning of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a provision of…

Jesner v Arab Bank Symposium: The Virtually Unanswerable Argument from General Principles
In their briefs and oral arguments before the Supreme Court earlier this month, counsel in Jesner v. Arab Bank met some astronomical expectations. But questioning from Justices…