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
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…
The Growing Divide Between European Governments and Regional Courts on Surveillance
Last week, as he delivered his first report to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy made headlines with his sharp criticism of the United…
Determining When the Armed Conflict With Al-Qaeda Started
A panel of the DC Circuit recently held oral arguments in the case of Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri — a Saudi man accused of involvement in numerous terrorist plots and attacks against…
Hostile Intent and Civilian Protection: Lessons From Recent Conflicts
Is a driver speeding toward a military checkpoint launching a suicide attack or racing his pregnant wife to the hospital? Is a local man digging on a roadside at night planting…
The Latest European Court of Human Rights Ruling on Accountability for Torture
In another important decision on European participation in the US war on terrorism, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a judgment late last month against Italy for…
Charlie Savage on Obama, GTMO and “Our Values”
Over on his blog, Charlie Savage has generously published a very thoughtful response to my post about his New York Times article, with Scott Shane, on the falsity of political…