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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3,768 Articles
The "petit seminaire" (small seminary) Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in the Central African Republic city of Bangassou, where 2,000 Muslims had been living for almost three years, as of February 13, 2020. In May 2017, a column of anti-Balaka Christian militiamen swept through Bangassou, which until then had been relatively untouched by the civil war that had ravaged the rest of the country since 2013, killing at least 72 Muslim civilians and 12 peacekeepers in a matter of days, according to the United Nations. (Photo by CAMILLE LAFFONT/AFP via Getty Images)

At the UN: New Moves to Speak Up for a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty

Amid a new resolution, delegations will need to send a crucial signal that protections for civilians are deepening -- not withering.

Averting Future Mass Atrocities in South Sudan as Peace Terms Stall

Pressing for certain "reforms" carries risks. The US, with allies, can take steps to help avert a further deterioration. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin stands at a white podium. Behind him are two Russian flags.

Stop Saying “Annexed Territories”: Alternatives to the Bully’s Term

To say Russia has “annexed” a Ukrainian oblast while Ukraine maintains its territorial claim is, in a minor way, to aid Russia in its wrongful act. The clearest description…
Supporters and Judges of Krakow Courts hold banners during a protest against an ongoing session of the Disciplinary Chamber of Poland's Supreme Court to consider the application of the National Public Prosecutor's Office for permission to detain and forcibly bring Judge Igor Tuleya in front of Krakow's Appeal Court on April 21, 2021 in Krakow, Poland. Igor Tuleya, who had been critical of changes to Poland's justice system, had become a symbol of the struggle for judicial independence in Poland. The EU had taken Poland to court over judicial independence concerns. (Photo by Omar Marques/Getty Images)

Poland’s Judicial Reform Falls Short of EU Expectations, Complicating Cooperation Against Russia

Pres. Duda’s failure to reverse course on actions that increase tensions and decrease solidarity in Europe weakens their alliance with the US.
People waiting in line in foreground; spires of a Cambodian temple in background.

The ECCC Begins Winding Down: In Cambodia, a Hybrid Tribunal’s Hybrid Legacy

Constrained by domestic politics and with its final verdict delivered, the ECCC's legacy – like its nature – is a hybrid one.

11 Takeaways from Senate Hearing on Expanding War Crimes Act and a Crimes Against Humanity Statute

Bipartisan hearing with takeaways for Ukraine War, International Criminal Court, war crimes and torture prosecutions and more.
Overhead shot of people in suits seated at a portion of circular table, all watching individual screens with the same image of a person speaking.

The United Nations in Hindsight: The Long and Winding Road to Security Council Reform

The UN Security Council's inability to address Russia's war against Ukraine has generated renewed interest in ideas for Security Council reform -- but "the path to reform may be…
Bus faces the camera in foreground. Dome of US Capitol Building in background.

In Weaponizing Asylum Seekers, DeSantis & Abbott Unwittingly Demonstrate the Possibility of Safe Transit Policies for Migrants

Ironically, the governors' actions show that the US could implement policies that better reflect the realities of migration - by treating migrants has human beings rather than…
Konstantin Ivashchenko (seated in foreground on the right), former CEO of the Azovmash plant and appointed pro-Russian mayor of Mariupol, visits a polling station as people vote in a referendum in Mariupol on September 27, 2022. He is seated in a green uniform in front of a desk where poll workers are examining documents, and a uniformed, armed soldier wearing a balaclava is standing behind him. In the background is another desk with poll workers on one side and a civilian on the other, possibly a voter. Western nations dismissed the referendums in Kremlin-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine as the voting on whether Russia should annex four regions of Ukraine started on September 23, 2022. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Dealing with Putin’s Nuclear Blackmail

The risk cannot be dismissed, but giving in to his threats in his war on Ukraine would create a precedent that he likely would use elsewhere.
Rubble lies on the floor near the site of a recent Al Shabab attack on the Hayat Hotel, seen through the window of an armoured car on September 4, 2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Bombing for Peace in Somalia? Time for a Different Approach

The path to peace in Somalia cannot rest on counterterrorism operations alone.
Russian Federation Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey V. Lavrov speaks during the United Nations Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters to discuss the conflict in Ukraine on September 22, 2022 in New York City.

The Case for Creating a Special Tribunal to Prosecute the Crime of Aggression Committed Against Ukraine (Part IV)

Discussing details for an international tribunal for aggression against Ukraine including outreach, victim participation, and more.
Ukrainian and Russian flags.

US Intervention in Ukraine v. Russia at the ICJ: A Q&A with Chimène Keitner

"The recent flurry of interventions shows that the ICJ proceeding continues to serve as a rallying point for Ukraine’s supporters."
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