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.
3,496 Articles

Privacy and Data Collection/Retention in the EU: Villalón Opinion
On Thursday of last week, Advocate General Cruz Villalón (see here for a description of the role of the Advocate General and the non-binding nature of their Opinions) delivered…

The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction
The Parallels Between South African and U.S. Law On Universal Jurisdiction In an earlier post, we noted that the South African universal jurisdiction (UJ) statute is not particularly…

Amnesty International’s Survey on Universal Jurisdiction: A Reply to Kevin Jon Heller
Kevin Jon Heller has a post over at Opinio Juris responding to concerns I raised about Amnesty International’s survey of states that have adopted universal jurisdiction. Kevin…

NDAA Passes House, Senate Expected to Vote Next Week
As Ruchi included in the news roundup this morning, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House last night by a vote of 350-69. In case you missed it earlier…

Counting Universal Jurisdiction States: What’s Wrong with Amnesty International’s Numbers [Updated]
[Update: Kevin Jon Heller replies to Ryan’s post over at Opinio Juris. And Ryan responds to Kevin. Hugo Relva, Legal Adviser at Amnesty International submitted a Letter to the…

The Unexceptional Nature of the South African Universal Jurisdiction Law
In the wake of the moving funeral of Nelson Mandela, we have reported on the recent ruling of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal mandating that the National Prosecution…

Drones Strikes Kill 18 in Yemen This Week — More Transparency is Needed
The alleged US drone strike that reportedly killed up to 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen on Thursday is just one more reason why the Obama administration has to start…

Some Criticisms of Obama’s Drones and Targeting Rules are Baseless
There are many valid criticisms of the Obama administration’s drone policy and related targeting rules. We have made some of those ourselves (here and here). There are also…

Universal Jurisdiction: The South African Chapter
In the latest judicial ruling to grapple with issues of universal jurisdiction, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in late November that could potentially…

International Human Rights Law and Preventive (Security) Detention: A European Exceptionalism?
1. Ryan Goodman is right when he states, in an earlier post on Just Security, that “a significant body of international human rights law clearly permits, and regulates, preventive…

NDAA Redux – Provision on Lethal Targeting
In a post last night, I noted the key Guantanamo-related provisions in the latest version of the 2014 NDAA. It’s also worth highlighting the inclusion of another provision…

The Potential Pitfalls of Refusing to Reopen the Article III Door for Guantanamo Detainees
The version of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2014 (2014 NDAA) reported out by the Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) would have eliminated the existing bar on…