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.
3,498 Articles

The al-Aulaqi Opinion and Fourth Amendment “Seizures”
Friday’s decision by Judge Collyer, in which she dismissed Bivens claims brought by the families of Anwar al-Aulaqi, his son Abdulrahman, and Samir Khan (arising out of their…

Seymour Hersh’s Second Bite at the Apple: The Syrian chemical weapons conspiracy 2.0
In December 2013, Seymour Hersh published a potential bombshell story entitled, “Whose sarin?” The story purported to show that the White House knew it had insufficient evidence…

Why the CIA? Why no U.S. acknowledgement?
Just to follow up on Ryan’s post: Mark Mazzetti’s story for the Times, assuming it is accurate, confirms what I tried to explain in a post a few weeks ago —…

Yemen Banned Pentagon’s Drone Operations after US Struck Wedding Procession
In Sunday’s New York Times, a must-read story by Mark Mazzetti chronicles a wide range of issues involving the CIA and counterterrorism programs. A news development that might…

UK Defence Select Committee: Extensive legal scrutiny undermining willingness of commanders to take necessary risks
The UK’s House of Commons Defence Select Committee published a report on Wednesday [full text] concerning the legal framework for future operations of the armed forces. The…

Civilian War Victims Receive Recognition in US Law
When the US military was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, it had no plan for addressing civilian casualties despite following rules prohibiting disproportionate or deliberate…

States, Almost States, Non-State Actors and the Geneva Conventions: Palestinian President Abbas’s attempt to join the Club
[Editor’s Note: Be sure to see the letter to the editor from a former Deputy Legal Adviser to Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations responding to this…

Law of War Conventions that Palestinian President Abbas Intends to Join: Questions Raised
The Palestinian authorities have released the complete list of treaties that they intend to join. According to the statement, President Abbas “signed letters of accession”…

Military Courts and Article III
For some time, I’ve been working on the larger implications of the jurisprudence arising from the Guantánamo military commissions and the Court of Appeals for the Armed…

John Bellinger’s Testimony before the PCLOB (and implications for Senate approval of the Persons with Disabilities Convention) [Updated on April 2]
My friend and former legal adviser to the State Department John Bellinger recently testified before the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board (PCLOB) on the question whether international…

The Human Rights Committee’s Draft Comment 35 on Detention and Security of Persons: A long, long time coming yet still falls short
On June 30, 1982 the Human Rights Committee adopted General Comment No. 8 on Article 9 (the right to liberty and security of the person). It has taken a mere 32 years – a significant…

GTMO Case to Watch in the Supreme Court [UPDATED]
The Supreme Court has relisted for conference three times a pending Guantánamo habeas petition, Hussain v. Obama, No. 13-638. The Court will consider the case for the fourth…