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.
3,737 Articles

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…

Closing the Loop: Sabrina De Sousa Pardoned for Role in CIA Torture and Rendition
Just a quick note to close the loop on the Sabrina De Sousa case, which I discussed in greater detail here. On the day before she was to be extradited to Italy from Portugal,…

Ukraine Update: the ICJ Proceedings & Options for Justice in the United States
With the Congressional hearings on Russia dominating the news, this post provides an update on proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the matter of Ukraine…

U.S. Arms Sale to Saudis Spells Legal Trouble for State Department Officials
In December, the Obama administration suspended a large weapon sale to Saudi Arabia due to concerns about widespread civilian casualties from Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. The Trump…

Targeting Yemen and the Repeal of Obama Constraints
Over at the New York Times, Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt have written an excellent article on the Trump Administration’s decision to declare three parts of Yemen “areas…

Some Realities Behind the Application for Revision Concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) yesterday rejected an Application for Revision of the court’s judgment of February 26, 2007, that would reopen one of the most important…

Keeping K2 (European Human Rights Court Decision on Citizenship-Stripping) in Perspective
Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg rejected as inadmissible an application by K2, a terror suspect born in Sudan but who acquired British citizenship…

European Court of Human Rights Decides UK Did Not Violate Human Rights When it Revoked Terror Suspect’s Citizenship
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that there was no human rights violation in the United Kingdom’s decision to strip a terror suspect of his British citizenship…

Why a Broad Definition of “Violence” in Cyber Conflict is Unwise and Legally Unsound
International Humanitarian Law (IHL, aka the Law of Armed Conflict) is not intended to outlaw conflict. It is meant to regulate conflict in order to reduce its impact on civilians…

Ukraine Asks for Immediate Relief in Its Case Against Russia before the International Court of Justice
Further to our original post about Ukraine’s suit against Russia before the International Court of Justice, the ICJ is holding hearings this week on Ukraine’s request for provisional…