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.

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3,737 Articles
Protesters hold signs in French opposing ECOWAS.

An International Law Assessment of ECOWAS’ Threat to Use Force in Niger

Under international law, the only possible legal basis for a potential ECOWAS military intervention would be an invitation by Niger extended to ECOWAS to use force on its territory.
STRAIT OF HORMUZ (Aug. 6, 2023) An L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 unmanned surface vessel, front, the U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) transit the Strait of Hormuz, Aug. 6, 2023. (U.S. Navy photo)

Renewed Tensions in the Persian Gulf: Further War Powers Lessons from the Tanker War

The possibility of unilateral use of force spiraling into conflict in the Middle East should generate a sense of urgency on Capitol Hill for tackling war powers reform.
(From L to R) Former Serbian Minister of Defence Zoran Djordjevic, then-Serbian Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin, Serbian Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina Stanimir Vukicevic and President of the Serbian entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska) Milorad Dodik attend an event to promote Slavic - Serbian ties on July 7, 2017 in Bratunac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The gathering aimed to highlight Bosnian Serb victims of the Bosnian 1992-1995 war. Bratunac is located near Srebrenica, where the genocide against Muslim Bosnian civilians by Bosnian Serbs forces took place in 1995. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

US Sanctions Against Serbia’s Intel Boss Should Signal a More Holistic Policy Redo

The commendable action will only have an impact as part of a broader change in the Biden administration’s posture on the Western Balkans.
White makeshift tent shelters stretch into the distance against a blue sky at the Russayo site in Eastern DRC.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Unheard Humanitarian Crisis

Since MSF raised the alarm about sexual violence and the crisis in eastern DRC as a whole, a slew of diplomats, U.N. officials, and local authorities have visited and expressed…
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by Air Force personnel, checks a Hermes 900 drone

The Legal Takeover of the Manifestly Unlawful Order Doctrine in Israel

The involvement of lawyers allows combatants to absolve themselves from thinking about human rights considerations as long as they believe the military functions as part of a democratic…
A European Union observer, seen from behind and wearing a blue helmet and blue vest with the EU's circle of stars on it, looks in the direction of the Lachin corridor, the Armenian-populated breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's only land link with Armenia, on July 30, 2023. Karabakh has been at the centre of a decades-long dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have fought two wars over the mountainous territory. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Starvation as a Means of Genocide: Azerbaijan’s Blockade of the Lachin Corridor Between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh

The US, Russia, and other world powers have avenues both to halt the current situation and to pursue justice and accountability.
3D render of the raid on Al-Baghdadi compound in Barisha, Syria.

Baghdadi Raid Documents Suggest New US Standards for Assessing Civilian Harm

If the U.S. government requires metadata to prove evidence of civilian harm, it essentially means researchers will have to find the exact person who took the original image, speak…
An interior shot of the Peace Palace, the seat of the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial body of the United Nations.

Why Terrorism Exceptions to State Immunity Do Not Violate International Law

If the International Court of Justice approaches Iran’s claims against Canada the same way it approached Germany’s claims against Italy, Canada should prevail.
Statue of Yahya

International Criminal Accountability for Yahya Jammeh’s Administration: The Gambia-ECOWAS Court

The government of The Gambia, ECOWAS, and the AU have a responsibility to action the decades-long justice and accountability demands of the victims and survivors of the Jammeh-era…

The Last Chance for a Two-State Solution for Israelis and Palestinians May Be to Think Much Bigger

The only realistic chance for a lasting peace will be impossible to achieve solely as a bilateral agreement.
Fishing boats behind a Chinese flag are seen in a harbour on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan

Deterrence Lawfare to Save Taiwan

Recognition would be a powerful diplomatic weapon for the US should China abandon a peaceful means to resolve the island's governance.
Just Security

Joint Symposium on U.S. Cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s Ukraine Investigation

A Joint Symposium with Articles of War on U.S. cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s Ukraine investigation
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