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.
3,496 Articles
The Limits of the Logic that the Power to Kill includes the Power to Detain
I will soon have a longer post on the UK High Court judgment in Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense, but here I want to consider a specific argument that implicates the authority of…
Serdar Mohammed: A View onto U.S. Detentions
[Editor’s Note: This post is part of a“mini forum” hosted by Just Security that analyzes different elements of the judgment in Serdar Mohammed v. Secretary of State for…
Backgrounder: Preliminary Examination into Abuses by United Kingdom Personnel in Iraq
As we reported earlier, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor has reopened the preliminary examination into crimes committed by United Kingdom personnel in Iraq from 2003-2008 during…
Do women have anything to say about autonomous weapons? [Updated on October 25, 2016]
Update (October 25, 2016) — Mary Wareham of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots maintains a regularly updated “Binder of Women,” listing the names and bios of…
Start of first inter-governmental expert meeting on autonomous weapons
Today, the 117 states parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) held their first expert meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems – weapons that can…
ICC Prosecutor Reopens Preliminary Examination of Alleged Crimes by UK Soldiers in Iraq
Today in a press release, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC announced that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has decided to reopen the preliminary investigation into alleged…
Assessing Serdar Mohammed through the Prism of Derogation and Detention
Last week the High Court of England and Wales, per Mr Justice Leggatt, delivered a comprehensive judgment in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defence [2014] EWHC 1369 (QB). The case…
Why Civil Libertarians and Drone Critics Should Support David Barron
Sen. Rand Paul has an op-ed in the New York Times today opposing the nomination of David J. Barron to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit until the memos Barron wrote…
Letter to the Editor from Gabor Rona, Mohammed v. Ministry Defense and the ICRC’s Position
I don’t know if the ICRC will make any attempt to clarify its position, but I think the Court in Serdar Mohammed is wrong to suggest that the ICRC believes there is inherent…
Update: French Text Referring Syria to ICC Said to Replicate Standard Exemptions for US
In a post this morning, I discussed the language reported in the press of a draft Security Council resolution referring Syria to the International Criminal Court. The question…
How “Similar” is US Exemption on Draft UNSC Referral of Syria to the ICC?
[Editor’s Note: Check out Ryan’s updated post, “Update: French Text Referring Syria to ICC Said to Replicate Standard Exemptions for US.”] Yesterday I…
Preview: Lithuania to Face Questioning by UN Committee against Torture about “Black Sites”
On Monday, the UN Committee against Torture (“the Committee” or “the CAT Committee”) will review Lithuania’s third periodic report on its compliance with the Convention…