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.
3,502 Articles

Contempt Charges and the International Criminal Tribunals
The last days have been busy in the international criminal law world with convictions in the Karadžić case at the ICTY and the Bemba case at the ICC, and the confirmation for…

The Many Significances of the Karadžić Conviction
Last week, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Radovan Karadžić, the former President of the Republika Srpska and Supreme Commander…

Engines of Liberty: How Civil Society Helped Restore Constitutional Rights in the Aftermath of 9/11
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…

Yes, We Can Lawfully Target Islamic State Trainees Preparing to Conduct Terrorist Attacks in Europe and Elsewhere
In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks in Brussels, and amid reports that ISIL has not only claimed responsibility for the attacks, but has also trained “400 fighters…

Obama’s Plan Is Not a Guantánamo North
President Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo has seemingly been criticized by all sides of the political spectrum. At a hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee this…

Frank and Candid Conversations About Human Rights in Cuba
Yesterday was an historic day for US-Cuba relations. President Obama and almost 40 members of Congress, including both Republicans and Democrats, traveled to Havana for an unprecedented…

Prosecuting Trump
There has been much discussion of Donald Trump’s open pledge to commit torture and war crimes if elected President. He has said that he would bring back waterboarding and techniques…

Trump and Torture
Presidential candidate Donald Trump has made headlines with his campaign promise to revive torture as a US government practice. First, with his signature bluster, Trump declared…

Upcoming International Criminal Law Trifecta
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…

Justice Garland and National Security Accountability: What’s Missing from the Dueling Guantánamo Accounts
Not surprisingly, folks looking for interesting things to say about Chief Judge (and Supreme Court nominee) Merrick Garland’s jurisprudence during his 19-year tenure on the…

ISIL = Genocide, Per Secretary Kerry
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on March 17 that, in his judgment, ISIL is committing genocide against a number of minority groups in Syria and Iraq, including Christians:…

The Fuzzy Scope of the Forever War Needs Definition
For years now, the questions of where and with whom exactly the United States is at war have been treated as somewhat academic. It’s not that they didn’t matter, but a gridlocked…