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
Italian Court of Cassation Reverses Convictions of Italian Intelligence Agents Involved in Bush-Era Extraordinary Rendition
Reuters and AP have reported that Italy’s highest court in criminal matters, the Court of Cassation, reversed the convictions on Monday of five Italian military intelligence…
Accountability & North Korea in Light of the Commission of Inquiry’s Report
An earlier post addressed the origins, mandate, and results of the Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry dedicated to examining the commission of crimes against humanity…
Lithuanian Prosecutors Open Probe into CIA Black Site
The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office has opened a pre-trial investigation into allegations that a Saudi Guantánamo detainee, Mustafa al-Hawsawi was held at a secret CIA…
Miranda: Blame Parliament Before Blaming the Courts
In August 2013, David Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, was transiting through Heathrow, on his way from Germany to Brazil when he was detained and searched under…
Disturbing Findings of the North Korea Commission of Inquiry
The Commission of Inquiry (COI) focused on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) released its first report this week. The report is a monumental depiction of the…
More Executive-Minded than the Executive
The English judiciary continues to show its habit of subservience to the government on security matters. In August 2013, David Miranda, who was carrying a hard disk with files…
Missing Transparency: Is the US Response to Reported Drone Attack on Wedding Party Self-Defeating?
On Thursday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a fact-intensive report based on the group’s investigations into a US drone strike that allegedly hit a wedding party in Yemen…
A Rejoinder from Jenks and Corn re U.S. SIGINT Based Targeting
There is probably no area of greater consensus between us and Professors Goodman and Jinks (their post) than the recognition that the law of armed conflict should and must be responsive…
Military Targeting Based on Cellphone Location
A recent news story by Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill details the use of NSA signals intelligence (SIGINT) – including cellphone and SIM card data – to locate and kill…
Eyes Wide Shut: Scahill and Greenwald’s Flawed Critique of U.S. SIGINT Based Targeting
[Editor’s Note: Stay tuned later today for a post by Ryan Goodman and Derek Jinks responding to the guest post by Chris Jenks and Geoffrey Corn.] In The NSA’s Secret Role in…
The al Iraqi Case and the Future of Military Commissions
This morning’s New York Times features a story by Charlie Savage about yesterday’s addition of a conspiracy charge to the pending military commission proceeding at…
Do “Extrajudicial Releases” of Afghan Detainees Violate International Law?: The Missing Legal Arguments
Today’s release of detainees by Afghan authorities, from the Parwan detention facility near Bagram airfield, has met with strong responses by the US embassy in Kabul (here) and…