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.
3,737 Articles
A Response on Department of Defense Directive 2310.01E (Detainee Program)
Over the past couple weeks, Steve Vladeck, Gabor Rona, and Marty Lederman have posted comments and raised some questions about the new Department of Defense (DoD) detainee directive…
A Response to Jonathan Horowitz – Why Unwilling or Unable is Measured by a State’s Capacity to Act as Well as its Willingness to do so
Jonathan Horowitz responded to my earlier post and made two points about the “unable or unwilling” standard that I believe merit some clarification. Jonathan begins by agreeing…
When Institutions Fail: A Thought Experiment
[Editors’ Note: The following post is the second installment of a new feature, “Monday Reflections,” in which a different Just Security editor will take a…
ISIS/ISIL remains associated with Al-Qaida because the UN Security Council says so?
There is considerable disagreement whether President Obama has acted unconstitutionally or unlawfully when proceeding to military action against ISIL/ISIS without new Congressional…
What’s the matter with the revised DoD Directive 2310.01E?
Both Steve and Gabor Rona have posted here in recent days with concerns about the newly promulgated Department of Defense Directive 2310.01E, on the “DoD Detainee Program.”…
Does the Unwilling/Unable Test Hang on Territorial Control?: A Response to Michael Lewis
Professor Yoram Dinstein has characterized war as something that would “appear every once in a while, leave death and devastation in its wake, and temporarily pass away to return…
International Law – and the Unwilling and Unable Test – for US Military Operations in Syria
I greatly appreciate Professor Mike Lewis’s contribution to our discussion of international law on potential US airstrikes inside Syria. In this post, I reply to Mike’s concerns…
The Erosion of a Secret
Drone Timeline (Click to Enlarge) In connection with an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the CIA has…
What Does the “Unwilling or Unable” Standard Mean in the Context of Syria?
[Editor’s note: Ryan Goodman responds to Professor Lewis in a subsequent post. See also a response by Jonathan Horowitz] President Obama has now announced his intentions to carry…
The Bells of September
This September 11th, I traveled with my little boy down the tree-lined beauty of Savannah to Reynolds Square where, amidst the draped Spanish Moss, historic Christ Church rang…
New Submission on US Military Justice Noncompliance with the ICCPR
Three legal experts (Eugene R. Fidell, Elizabeth L. Hillman, and Nancy Duff Campbell) and two organizations (Amnesty International and The International Commission of Jurists)…
Guest Post: DoD Directive 2310.01E
As Steve Vladeck noted yesterday, the Department of Defense is out with a new version of its Directive 2310.01E on detainee operations. Steve asks the big question: why now?…