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.
3,695 Articles
Al-Marri’s End and the Failed Experiment of Domestic Military Detention
In the coming days, Ali al-Marri, former enemy combatant, is scheduled to be released from federal criminal custody, clearing the way for his removal by immigration officials to…
Ongwen Onward to the Hague: Lord’s Resistance Army Commander to Face Justice
Media are reporting that Dominic Ongwen, the Joseph Kony deputy who defected last week from the Lord’s Resistance Army, will be transferred to the International Criminal Court…
Is it Really Better to be Dead than Blind?
Late last year, the U.S. Navy announced that its $40 million laser weapon is finally ready for combat aboard the special operations staging ship USS Ponce. The laser, which “zaps…
Palestine’s Two Cards: A Commitment to Legality and an Invitation to Stop Crimes
Two steps recently taken by Palestine could be a game changer for a seemingly intractable problem. I will argue that these decisions should not be construed as an assault on Israel.…
The Shrinking Military Commissions
Yesterday’s news that the Convening Authority for the Guantánamo military commissions has “disapproved the findings and sentence,” and dismissed the charges…
Letter to the Editor from former Legal Adviser to Palestine’s Mission to the United Nations
Below, reader Yousef N. Zeidan replies to Robert Howse’s Palestine and the ICC: Law and Rhetoric, and to an exchange of letters between reader Jonathan Somer and Howse.…
Howse Reply to Letter to the Editor
Below, Robert Howse replies to a letter to the editor from reader Jonathan Somer, referencing Howse’s post, Palestine and the ICC: Law and Rhetoric. In his letter to the…
Letter to the Editor: Howse on Palestine and the ICC
The letter below replies to “Palestine and the ICC: Law and Rhetoric” by Robert Howse, published January 7. In discussing who decides whether Palestine is a ‘State’…
The U.S. Should Not Disengage From the International Criminal Court Following Palestine’s Ascension
There is some risk that Palestine’s ascension to the International Criminal Court will result in political backlash in Washington regarding the United States’ policy of constructive…
Palestine and the ICC: Law and Rhetoric
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has said that Palestine will join the International Criminal Court in April. Yet it is not the Secretary General’s decision to make. …
ICC Fugitive In US Custody?
[An update to this post is available here, confirming Ongwen’s transfer to The Hague to stand trial]. Media and the US State Department spokeswoman are reporting that a man…
A Precedent for Post-Strike Investigations for Civilian Casualties in War
In reflecting on 2014, I thought about an overlooked moment for issues of transparency and accountability in military operations. A heated debate in international law is whether…