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.
3,518 Articles
What Do Top Legal Experts Say About the Syria Strikes?
I asked several of the very top legal minds about their views concerning Thursday night’s airstrikes by the United States in response to the Syrian government’s reported…
Not Illegal: But Now The Hard Part Begins
I am no fan of the Trump Administration, which in its short life has attempted many illegal acts. But neither do I automatically conclude that everything it does is illegal, as…
Why the strikes against Syria probably violate the U.N. Charter and (therefore) the U.S. Constitution
[UPDATED] The Pentagon has issued the following statement about the U.S.’s use of 59 Tomahawk missiles against the Shayrat Airfield in the Homs governorate of Syria this…
Humanitarian Military Options for Syrian Chemical Weapons Attack: “Illegal but Not Unprecedented”
Without Security Council authorization, any U.S. military force to respond to Assad’s chemical weapons attack would be a violation of international law, but … Policymakers…
Questions Raised by Syria’s Chemical Weapons Attack
Details are still emerging about Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun in northern Syria, but the US, France and Britain have already condemned the Syrian government…
The Importance of Protecting Civilians—Through Law, Strategy, and Tactics
The spate of allegations of civilian deaths as a result of US operations in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen over the last few weeks has garnered significant interest from humanitarian groups…
ISIS Tactic of “Baiting” US-Coalition to Kill Civilians–and who bears responsibility
Many are searching for an explanation for the recent spike in civilian casualties resulting from coalition operations in Iraq and Syria, including specific incidents which have…
Shaky Legal Grounds: Syria Demands US Assault on Raqqa Must Work with Assad’s Forces
On Friday, Syria’s Ambassador to the United Nations stated that a U.S.-backed assault on ISIL’s capital city of Raqqa would be illegitimate unless militarily coordinated…
The International Legal Environment for Nuclear Deterrence
Russian spy ships stationed off the U.S. coast, provocative overflights of U.S. warships, and deployments of U.S. tanks in Central Europe are no longer artifacts of the Cold War,…
San Francisco Sets an Example of How to Resist Surveillance in Trump Era
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) suspended its participation in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) last month. JTTFs are counterterrorism-focused intelligence-sharing…
What Explains the Rise in Civilian Casualties in US Military Ops–Iraq, Syria and Elsewhere
Last Friday, several news outlets reported that perhaps as many as 200 civilians had been killed in a recent U.S. airstrike in Mosul in northern Iraq, where the U.S. is participating…
Lenient Sentences in Int’l Criminal Court Obstruction Case Undermine Court’s Authority
The International Criminal Court faces many external challenges when investigating and prosecuting its cases. But sometimes the wounds are self-inflicted. Last week Jean-Pierre…