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.
3,505 Articles

Questions for Congress to Ask the Biden Administration at the AUMF Hearing
Congress should seek to determine how the executive branch interprets and relies on the 2001 AUMF and where the administration stands on proposed reforms that have been widely…

The Future Battlefield: Governed by International Law or Kriegsraison?
Russia's justifications for its invasion of Ukraine and the international response demonstrate the enduring relevance of international law.

Ethiopia’s Conflict Is Spreading, But UN Human Rights Council May End Expert Investigation Anyway
EU presses to let mandate end despite commission finding that “past and current abuses in these four regions demand further investigation.”

Congress Should Pass the SAFEGUARD Act to Overhaul Arms Sales Law and Protect Human Rights
The SAFEGUARD Act provides a pathway for Congress to push for accountability for the violence linked to U.S. arms sales.

Making Counter-Hegemonic International Law: Should A Special Tribunal for Aggression be International or Hybrid?
The increasingly polarized debate over the tribunal’s institutional design – international or hybrid – goes to the heart, and core purpose, of international criminal justice,…

Analyzing Previously Undisclosed Use of Force Reports: Challenges of Congressional Oversight of the War on Terror
The executive branch, through noncompliance and defiance, has delayed providing Congress with sufficient information on the war on terror.

How the Expansion of “Self-Defense” Has Undermined Constraints on the Use of Force
Legal Scholar Oona Hathaway examines how expansive U.S. interpretations of "self-defense" have shaped international law.

As the Government Turns Up the Heat, Iranians Need the World’s Support
Today, the international community should center its focus on the widespread, systematic abuse against women and girls in Iran and commit to coordinated action aimed at justice…

Finally Ending America’s Forever War, Part II: Prescription
Leading legal scholar Harold Hongju Koh presents a long-term strategy for ending the "war on terror."

The Themes and Tensions to Watch at This Year’s UN General Assembly Meetings
The agenda for this year's United Nations General Assembly will focus on the Russia-Ukraine war and international development.

Introduction to Symposium: Ending Perpetual War
Marking the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, our new Symposium reflects on the enduring legacies of the "war on terror" and prospects for finally leaving the war path.

Finally Ending America’s Forever War, Part I: Diagnosis
On the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, leading legal scholar Harold Hongju Koh offers a grim diagnosis of how we got here and the challenges ahead.