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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3,510 Articles
Funeral workers carry a body bag containing the remains of Arvin Arbuis through a grave site. A procession of people follow.

ICC Investigation of Philippines President Duterte Sends Important Signals

It tells other governments that they may not obtain retroactive impunity for their crimes by withdrawing from the ICC treaty.
Filipino protestors demonstrate outside the Chinese Embassy on July 12, 2019 in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. They carry signs reading, “Justice for Filipino Fishermen!” “Demiliterize West Philippine Sea” “Uphold Philippine Victory in the Arbitral Tribunal! China Out of the West Philippine Sea!” and more.

China, Climate Change, Credibility: Why It’s (Finally) Time for the US to Join the Law of the Sea Convention

The US absence at the table is more perplexing than ever, considering how these issues will define maritime governance in the 21st century.
Diane Foley, the mother of slain ISIS hostage James Foley, stands alongside the parents of slain ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, Carl Mueller and Marsha Mueller, and family members of 2 other slain ISIS hostages, following the guilty pleas by Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles," to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages, including Mueller and Foley, outside the the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, September 2, 2021.

Impact-Based Jurisdiction and Crimes Against Humanity Statutes Are Needed for Effective Accountability

The answer is to fully enact international criminal law at the national level and to provide for its maximum reach.
Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

Crimes of Omission: Why a UN Treaty on Genocide but Not on Crimes Against Humanity?

It is a matter of historical curiosity, and it's time for the UN to reunite genocide with its genus by concluding a parallel treaty.
Members of the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) Italian contingent gather in the village of Seddiqine in the southern Lebanese district of Tyre, from near where four rockets were fired towards Israel, on May 19, 2021. They stand in front of an armored vehicle.

Why the UN Needs a Comprehensive “Agenda for Protection”

The UN has repeatedly failed to fulfill its mission to protect civilians. A protection agenda could help it succeed.
The empty courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court is seen September 30, 2016. Curtains are parted to reveal chairs, pews, and the seats for the judges at the front of the room.

Activism and Consequences

A response to Margulies and Azmy.
Syrian defendant Eyad al-Gharib, accused of crimes against humanity in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, arrives to hear his verdict in the court room on February 24, 2021 in Koblenz, western Germany. He holds up a document or folder to hide his face as two officers in bullet proof vests touch him and move him forward.

Striking the Right Balance for a Draft Convention on Crimes against Humanity

A successful treaty will prompt States to adopt stronger national laws and cooperate with each other to stop atrocities.
The Chair of Afghanistan's independent human rights commission, Sima Samar, hands Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, a document while United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, stands beside them witnessing the event. A flag stands behind them.

The Failure of Transitional Justice in Afghanistan: Impunity Turned Into Law

How the international community and domestic power brokers undermined an initiative and sowed another seed of the ultimate collapse.
Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at skulls displayed at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

As the Draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Moves Forward, a View on How It Relates to the Rome Statute for the ICC

Crimes against humanity is the only international crime not governed by its own treaty. It's time to formally recognize such heinous conduct.
Side by side images of the speakers from the event “Roads Not Taken – Reflections on the 9/11 Anniversary” hosted by Just Security and the Knight First Amendment Institute. Jameel Jaffer, Elisa Massimino, Anthony D. Romero, Kenneth Roth, and Linda Sarsour.

Video: Roads Not Taken – Reflections on the 9/11 Anniversary

Assessing the Work and Impact of U.S. Human Rights Organizations Since the 9/11 Attacks
Demonstrators, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, rally in protest calling on US President Barack Obama to end the "War on Drugs." They carry a banner reading, “Day of Direct Action; President Obama and the Nations…End the War on Drugs and Mass incarceration; Invest in America’s ‘Dark Ghettos’”

With America Out of a Major Foreign War, Time to End One at Home

Many of the tragedies and sins associated with failure in the war in Afghanistan could equally apply to the "war on drugs.”
Representatives sit at long desks for the United Nations General Assembly Seventy-first session, 57th plenary meeting.

How the UN General Assembly Can Respond to Atrocity Crimes at Its 76th Session

It has played a significant role in preventing and responding to atrocities in the past - it should take five priority actions now.
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