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
A Reply to Gabor Rona on “Extrajudicial Release” in Afghanistan
In his post “Extrajudicial Release: A New Rule-of-Law Problem?” Gabor Rona rightly criticizes U.S. officials’ use of the term “extrajudicial release.” It is a troubling…
10 Things We Need to Know Now About the US Drone War
A year ago today, NBC News published a leaked copy of a Justice Department memo that justified the killing of a U.S. citizen without a trial in a foreign country outside a war…
President Certifies US Forces in Mali Not at Risk of International Criminal Court, but is that Legally Valid?
On Friday, President Obama issued a Memorandum certifying that US Armed Forces participating in the UN military operation in Mali “are without risk of criminal prosecution”…
Fugitive Du Jour: Sylvestre Mudacumura
Following yesterday’s post about President Al-Bashir of Sudan, it might be useful to examine other fugitives from justice and the state of U.S. policy toward their capture.…
Another (Dubious) Guantánamo Precedent
As Wells Bennett flagged over at Lawfare, the D.C. Circuit’s latest foray into the Guantánamo detainee litigation came two weeks ago in Al-Janko v. Gates, in which a…
UK Government Issues Major Statement on Legality of Humanitarian Intervention
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has submitted an official response to questions posed by the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the legality of humanitarian…
President Bashir Is No Michelangelo
Earlier this week, President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan, indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, announced a “political…
Noor Khan: A missed opportunity?
Last week, the English Court of Appeal gave judgment in R (Noor Khan) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (full text). The claim was brought in an attempt…
Extrajudicial Release: A New Rule-of-Law Problem?
Monday’s Wall Street Journal reported on the release, this past Sunday night, of a statement by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, lamenting the decision of an Afghan-led review board…
U.S. Operations Against al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda: The Targeting of Godane
As Sarah Knuckey’s post explains, CNN is reporting that the latest US drone strike in Somalia targeted Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of Al-Shabaab. Sarah asks whether the strike…
What rules is the US applying to its Somalia drone strikes?
CNN today provided the most detailed account yet of the latest U.S. drone strike, carried out this past weekend in Somalia. US officials (quoted anonymously by CNN) said the…
OSCE Launches New “Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism Investigations” Manual
Recently, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) launched a new practical manual for…