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.
3,510 Articles

Time for the Biden Administration to Disavow the Dangerous Soleimani Legal Opinions
The legal opinions' fundamental error: distorting accepted legal framework to fit inapposite facts. Still on the book, the opinions remain a loaded weapon for another president…

Democracy, Rule of Law, Justice: Lessons from 2021 for the Year Ahead?
A curated selection of Just Security articles offers insights for 2022 on issues of racial justice, democracy and the rule of law, diplomacy, foreign policy, and more.

Amid Civilian Harm Revelations, Defense Bill Takes Measured Steps on Oversight and Accountability
Recent months have seen a flood of revelations concerning civilian harm resulting from U.S. military operations. The last U.S. airstrike of the war in Afghanistan, which killed…

The Use of Biometric Technologies for Counter-terrorism Purposes in a Human Rights Vacuum
CTED's "best practices" on biometrics miss a key dimension: international human rights law guidance.

On International Migrants Day, Reimagining Migration Beyond Imperialism, Militarism, and Racism
A clarion call for redemptive migration policy.

In South Sudan, Keep UN Peacekeepers Focused on Evolving Risks for Civilians
The transfer of "protection of civilian" sites to the government amid continuing threats requires extra vigilance from UNMISS.

Mexico v. Smith & Wesson: U.S. Court Duel Over Extraterritorial Legal Issues Looms with Motion to Dismiss
U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors moved to dismiss Mexico's against them, teeing up a U.S. court showdown implicating transnational legal issues.

America Needs a War on Terror Transparency Act
The Pentagon has three months to investigate the disturbing New York Times report that the military conducted and covered up airstrikes in Baghuz, Syria that killed up to 64 civilians.…

France Is Not a Safe Haven for Human Rights Abusers – Despite High Court Opinion
The French high court struck a blow against universal jurisdiction recently - but the decision need not doom future cases.

Neither Truth Nor Reconciliation: Mexico’s President Betrays Commitment to Transitional Justice
Yet, regardless of the scale and acceleration of abuses, such concerns are marginalized or avoided at high-level US-Mexico meetings.

Crimes Against Humanity: Little Progress on Treaty as UN Legal Committee Concludes its Work
Despite a majority of States favoring a clear mandate and timeline to discuss the draft in the next year, a few countries essentially exercised vetoes.

Preliminary but Necessary: The Question of the Applicability of the Notion of Apartheid to Occupied Territory
Does the prohibition of apartheid apply to occupied territory? Marco Longobardo analyzes how laws of war, human rights, occupation, and against racial discrimination intersect.…