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.
3,494 Articles

Debate (Round 1): Against the Notion of Competing Legal Frameworks in the “War on Terror”
This post is the third in a series from Gabor Rona, Geoffrey Corn, and Just Security’s Derek Jinks. The debate addresses a fundamental question for US national security law:…

Debate (Round 1): The Military Component of Counter-Terror Operations
This post is the second in a series from Gabor Rona, Geoffrey Corn, and Just Security’s Derek Jinks. The debate addresses a fundamental question for US national security…

Debate (Round 1): The ‘Lutte’ Against Terrorism
This post is the first in a series from Gabor Rona, Geoffrey Corn, and Just Security’s Derek Jinks. The debate addresses a fundamental question for US national security law:…

Al Bahlul Argument Post-Mortem
If one thing was clear from this morning’s oral argument before the en banc D.C. Circuit in al-Bahlul v. United States, it was the consistent skepticism from at least five…

Reforming FISA: A Critical Look at the Wyden/Udall Proposal and Foreign Surveillance
A new bipartisan bill co-sponsored by two of the most vocal critics of the NSA does not go far enough to protect the average non-U.S. person from indiscriminate surveillance. …

The Other, Lurking Constitutional Question in al-Bahlul
I would add only one thing to Jen’s thorough summary of the al-Bahlul argument next Monday, about something she references at the very end of her post: Besides ex post…

Are the Press Reports of the Security Council’s Draft Syria Resolution Accurate? How weak or strong is it?
After weeks of diplomatic wrangling, the permanent members of the Security Council emerged last night with a compromise draft resolution on chemical weapons in Syria. The key part…

Preview — Al Bahlul in the D.C. Circuit: The Fate of Military Commissions at Guantánamo
On Monday, September 30, the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, will hear argument in al Bahlul v. United States – a case definitely worth watching. The immediate question is whether…

Charles Taylor Verdict Today: New Standard of Liability for Aid to Rebel Forces?
The Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) today unanimously upheld the conviction and 50-year sentence of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for aiding…

Resolving Cyber-Related Ambiguities in the Law of War: A Reaction to Jensen
Many thanks to Eric Jensen for his excellent post on cyber issues, the use of force, and international law. The increasing number and sophistication of cyber attacks threatening…

Unprivileged Does Not Mean Prohibited
In his latest post, Ryan takes issue with those who argue that it would violate international law for a state civilian agency, such as the CIA, to use force in an armed conflict. …

Resolving Cyber Issues Sets the State for Future Weapons
[A note from Ryan Goodman: On Monday, Professor Michael Schmitt helped launch Just Security with a Guest Post on the law of cyber conflict. Professor Eric Talbot Jensen accepted…