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.
3,524 Articles

After ICJ’s “Certain Iranian Assets” Judgment, Iran and United States Both Claim Victory
"[T]he Court determined that it could not order the United States to unfreeze nearly $1.75 billion in Iranian central bank assets but obligated the United States to compensate…

The Just Security Podcast: The M23 Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
To explain the M23 conflict, and what the United States can do to pressure Rwanda to withdraw, we have Daniel Levine-Spound and Ari Tolany.

Don’t be Fooled By U.S. Smoke and Mirrors on the Crime of Aggression
When it comes to doing the right thing and pursuing the rule of law, the form a tribunal takes should not dictate its ability to function:

A Decade Ago, the Obama Administration Acted When the M23 Terrorized Eastern DRC. Will Biden Do the Same?
The United States should take immediate steps to halt all security cooperation activities with Rwanda until concrete conditions are met.

Expert Q&A on IHL Compliance in Russia’s War in Ukraine
IHL needs to be respected in the heat of battle. How to achieve that goal - and reduce civilian suffering during hostilities - should become an urgent focus of international attention.

The United States’ Proposal on Prosecuting Russians for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine is a Step in the Right Direction
Whatever shape an aggression tribunal takes, we applaud the U.S. position which will likely create momentum to prosecute Russian aggression.

In Trump Case, Procedures Exist to Safeguard the Former President’s Right to an Impartial Jury
"[E]nsuring that Trump receives a fair trial while maintaining his Sixth Amendment rights is a necessary step on the path toward accountability."

Transnational Repression Increasingly Reaches Into the United States
In countering transnational repression, "[c]ivil litigation provides a pathway for holding ... authoritarian regimes directly accountable, not just their hired guns, if significant…

Does Russia Exercise Overall Control over the Wagner Group? Expert Q&A from Stockton Center’s Russia-Ukraine Conference
Use of the “overall control” test to attribute Wagner Group conduct to Russia is appealing, but considering the test’s application to other factual scenarios, there is some…

Mexico Appeals in Case Against Gun Manufacturers
"Mexico’s litigation is part of wider efforts to hold irresponsible members of the U.S. gun industry accountable for transborder damage caused with their products on its territory."

Expert Q&A on Asset Seizure in Russia’s War in Ukraine
As a matter of both law and fairness, resources to rebuild Ukraine should come from Russia. Effectuating this redistribution is, however, much more complicated than it might at…

The Broad Scope of “Intent to Defraud” in the New York Crime of Falsifying Business Records
"While there are other legal hurdles for the Manhattan DA to cross in the indictment of the former president, this element of the relevant offenses poses no obstacle..."