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
Letter to the Editor: Human Shields in the DPH Guidance
[Editor’s Note: Ryan Goodman responds to Professor Haque’s letter to the editor in a subsequent post.] In his recent post, Ryan Goodman writes that the ICRC adopts the view…
Verdict in Cambodia: Too Little Too Late, but Still Important
Amidst all the developments in the Middle East, we could not allow the verdict rendered by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in Case 002 to go unacknowledged.…
Resource: The Israeli Government’s Legal Position on Who is a “Combatant” in the Gaza Conflict [Updated]
There has been a lot of loose talk in the media and by some commentators about the government of Israel’s official position on the definition of who is a lawful target in Gaza.…
President Authorizes Airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq—But how limited is it?
On Thursday night, President Obama announced that he has authorized airstrikes “if necessary” for “two missions” in Iraq (full text of the President’s statement). Mission…
Inspectors General Information Access Complaints
Earlier this week, 47 Inspectors General (IGs) across the federal government signed a letter to congressional oversight committees complaining about impediments to access to information…
Who does the New York Times think is a combatant in Gaza?
There is a strange quality to today’s story by the New York Times on the civilian casualty rate in Gaza (“Civilian or Not? New Fight in Tallying the Dead from the Gaza Conflict”).…
Guest Post: Has Hamas Overplayed Its Lawfare Strategy?
In the current Gaza conflict, the adversaries are employing very different strategies to achieve their operational objectives. Israel is executing a robust military strategy. By…
A Primer on the Laws of War that Apply to the Gaza Conflict
We were about to produce a primer on the law of war framework that governs the ongoing hostilities in Gaza. However, Human Rights Watch has just posted what we think is an excellent…
Deferential D.C. Circuit Upholds Genital Searches at Guantánamo
I’ve written before about the potential significance of the Guantánamo “counsel access” case—Hatim v. Obama–which raised the question of whether…
Russian Treaty Violations: A Blast from the Past or an Omen for the Future
On July 28, the New York Times ran a story with the headline “U.S. Says Russia Tested Cruise Missile, Violating Treaty.” Surprisingly, this story about an arms control…
Multiple Choice: Who Said This on Transparency and Targeted Killings Across State Borders?
Question: Who said this? “While the U.S. regards attacks on terrorists being protected in the sovereign territory of other States as potentially justifiable when undertaken in…
Road Map II: Legal Avenues to Prosecute a US Citizen for War Crimes—The Case of Gotabaya Rajapaksa
This is the second post arising out of a presentation I made at a congressional briefing earlier this month on issues of accountability in Sri Lanka. The analysis below is also…