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.
3,767 Articles
How Much (or How Little) Does the Biden Administration Want Justice in the 9/11 Case?
Secretary of Defense Austin's actions to reverse a plea deal for three defendants at Guantanamo may further jeopardize the prosecution's case.
Days, Not Weeks: Gaza, Starvation, and the Imperative to Act Now
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has sharpened third states’ obligation to use their leverage now to reverse the trajectory, writes Dannenbaum.
In ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Separate Opinions Obscure Legal Rationale
The Advisory Opinion marks an important development in international law. It is therefore disappointing that this development occurs ex cathedra and in a manner that reveals so…
Do Sanctions Work? It Depends. Burma and the West Bank Might Be Models.
The question shifts the focus from the far more critical issues of whether policy goals are clear and realistic and if sanctions can help.
Assessing Amnesties and Re-assimilation in Northeast Syria
Using amnesties, trials, and “parole boards” for detainees in northeast Syria would be consistent with the requirements of international law.
Abu Ghraib Dejà Vu
As torture victims from the Abu Ghraib prison return to U.S. federal court, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Xenakis discusses need for accountability.
The Just Security Podcast: Could Ecocide Become a New International Crime?
What does the proposal from Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa to add ecocide as a new international crime mean in practice?
Withdrawal from International Agreements: Toward a “Tailored Out”
The practical and political stakes of this admittedly esoteric question of constitutional law are high, implicating as it does the effectiveness of the United States’ engagement…
Presidential Power to Exit Treaties: Reflecting on the Mirror Principle
On balance, a mirroring concept serves better as part of an aspiration for greater inter-branch cooperation in making and unmaking international agreements, rather than as a legally-enforceable…
As Interpol Gets New Secretary General, What are the Risks of Abuses Over Reforms?
Interpol's General Assembly will formally elect a new operational head from Brazil amid growing political and legal challenges.
Making Sense of International Law in Light of Israel and Iran’s Latest Round of “Retaliation”
The current round of retaliatory strikes between Israel and Iran casts light on Israel's and Iran’s opposing political strategies, which also have significant legal implications…
Confronting the War on International Law in the United States
Widespread ignorance and even fear of international law only cede the territory to those willing to wield it. For the interests of the United States, it is essential that Congress,…