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.
3,788 Articles

The Pentagon’s Autonomous Weapons Definitions Don’t Need an Overhaul, They Need an Update
The Pentagon's push to integrate AI into weapons systems exposes a critical gap: no one can agree on what "autonomous weapons" means.

When Civilian Infrastructure Becomes a Lawful Target
Civilian infrastructure is not targetable merely because it is economically significant or politically useful to strike, but only when it offers a definite military advantage.

Genocide and Intent to Kill Revisited
An expert examines the implications of the ICJ's caselaw for the genocide case that Gambia brought against Myanmar.

Haiti’s New Courts Could Change Everything — Or Nothing At All
With international support, the Haitian government is creating two courts designed to prosecute complex crimes like the 2018 massacre at La Saline. Vetting will be crucial.

Before the Assembly: The Removal Vote and the Question of Fitness for Office
If the vote is understood as a judgment about the institution’s capacity to carry out its mandate, then the decision can be grounded in the interests of the Court.

Clausewitz on Operation Epic Fury
Applying Clausewitz’s principles to Operation Epic Fury reveals the war’s strategic design–architecture linking military action to political purpose–was deficient from…

Merchant Mariners: Unseen in Peacetime and Forgotten in Conflict
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran illustrates how thousands of merchant mariners, so desperately needed globally, increasingly are trapped at sea during times of conflict.

The State Department’s Campaign Against the ICC Rests on a Misunderstanding of How the Court Actually Works
While the ICC does have real problems, the State Department's campaign against it is premised on a misapprehension of how the Court works.

Key Trump Deportation Strategies: Removing, Replacing, and Pressuring Immigration Judges
New data shows how mass firings, loyalist replacements, and pressure tactics are turning U.S. immigration courts into a deportation enforcement arm.

In Context: Analyzing Secretary Rubio’s International Criminal Court Op-Ed
International law scholars address some of the factual claims and underlying assumptions in Secretary Marco Rubio's op-ed on dismantling the International Criminal Court.

What does the Trump Administration Statement on Dismantling the ICC Really Mean?
International law experts respond to the Trump administration's campaign to "dismantle" the International Criminal Court.

Revived Islamophobic Narratives Pose Renewed Danger as Bosnia Commemorates the Srebrenica Genocide
Bosnian Serb leader denies the mass killings, rapes, and ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks while reviving racist, anti-Muslim narratives that preceded the atrocities.