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.
3,494 Articles
The jurisdictional issue delaying the al-Nashiri military commission: Saudi defendant + French ship + Malaysian shipper + Iranian oil + Bulgarian casualty = trial in a U.S. military commission?
A couple of weeks ago, the Chief Prosecutor in the Office of Military Commissions filed an appeal to the Court of Military Commission Review from an order by the trial judge dismissing…
Constitutional “Cross-Ruffing”: My New Article
About a year ago, I wrote about the Second Circuit’s decision in the Ghailani case, in which, among other things, the Court of Appeals rejected a former Guantánamo detainee’s…
Security Agreement With Afghanistan Raises Key Questions About How and When War Ends
Today, the United States and Afghanistan signed a long-awaited bilateral security agreement. The U.S. government promised to withdraw combat troops by December, and to leave nearly…
Obama’s ISIL Legal Rollout: Bungled, Clearly. But Illegal? Really?
Editors’ Note: The following post is the fourth installment of a new feature, “Monday Reflections,” in which a different Just Security editor will take a…
Having Crossed the Rubicon: Arming and Training Syrian Rebels
Significant public discussion has focused on whether airstrikes against ISIL in Syria violate the international legal prohibition on the use of force. Remarkably what has largely…
A Briefing on European Developments in Accounting for and Advancing Counterterrorism Actions
Fallout from European action during the “War on Terror” is ongoing in national and regional courts. The European Court of Human Rights has taken up a number of cases…
Towards a Global Debate? UN Human Rights Council Takes on Drones
On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) expert panel on the use of armed drones and international law, expressed clear consensus around the need for greater transparency…
Australia, France, Netherlands Express Legal Reservations about Airstrikes in Syria [Updated]
In his speech before the United Nations on Wednesday, President Obama stated that “over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition” to dismantle the Islamic State of Iraq…
UK High Court Hears Case of Pakistani Held for a Decade Without Charges by UK and US
On Sept. 23, the United Kingdom High Court began its three-day hearing of a case involving the alleged kidnapping, torture, detention, and subsequent rendition of Pakistani citizen…
Kerry Tells North Korea to Shut Down Its Prison Camp System
In one of the highest profile responses to this past February’s report by the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, United…
Now is the Time to Think About Detentions with ISIL: A Response to Benjamin Wittes
Over at Lawfare, Ben Wittes shrugs off Jeff Stein’s important question,“What Will U.S. Forces Do With ISIS Prisoners?” Ben’s reaction, I believe, minimizes several important…
Is Credible Vetting of the Syrian Opposition for Human Rights Abuses Possible?
Tucked inside the continuing resolution the United States Congress passed late last week was a provision to authorize the training and equipping of “moderate, vetted” elements…