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
Does IHL Need Human Rights Law?: The Curious Case of NIAC Detention
As Ryan noted last week, the United Kingdom’s High Court ruled in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense that the United Kingdom’s 110-day detention of a suspected Taliban…
Does IHL Authorize Detention in NIACs?
As Ryan recently reported, the United Kingdom’s High Court of Justice has issued an important ruling in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense. The Court ruled that the long…
Mini Forum on UK High Court Ruling British Forces Lack Detention Authority in Afghanistan
On May 2, the High Court of England and Wales handed down a judgment in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense (full text). Mr. Justice Leggatt held that British forces lacked…
SSCI Report Names Djibouti as Host to CIA “Black Site,” as Case Pends before the African Commission
Djibouti is named as a host of a CIA “black site” in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) report examining the extraordinary rendition and secret detention…
United Kingdom’s High Court: Long-term detentions in Afghanistan illegal
On Friday the United Kingdom’s High Court, in the case of Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense (full text), handed down a judgment holding that the 110-day detention of a…
Legal Action Taken to Expose Denmark’s Role in US Targeted Killing Program
As reported in today’s Just Security Roundup, news this morning out of Denmark is that the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) is pursuing a potential suite of legal actions…
Remembering Abu Ghraib (2): Not Company Men and Women
[This is the second of a two-part post on the tenth anniversary of the Abu Ghraib scandal. I broke it up for easier reading. The first part is here.] Most people will comply but some…
Remembering Abu Ghraib (1): Torture Everywhere and the Accountability Gap
[This is the first of a two-part post on the tenth anniversary of the Abu Ghraib scandal. I’ve broken it in half for easier reading.] No exceptional circumstances whatsoever,…
Ukraine Before the ICC
The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has opened a preliminary examination into the situation in Ukraine. As we earlier noted, Ukraine on April 17,…
Realpolitik and Closing Guantánamo: A Response to Deborah Pearlstein
A few weeks back, I posted about my new Fordham Law Review essay, “Detention After the AUMF,” which explains how the President could use existing authority–to…
Justice Breyer’s intriguing suggestions in Hussain: A sign of habeas challenges to come?
Last month I predicted that one or more Justices would issue a separate opinion when the Court denied certiorari in Hussain, and that the likely topic of such an opinion would…
How We Read a NYTimes Story on Drone Strikes in Yemen
In this post, we’re trying something new. Below, we present an almost line-by-line annotation of yesterday’s New York Times story on US and Yemeni military operations in…