International and Foreign
2,970 Articles
The UK’s New Derogation Policy for Armed Conflicts: Making a Success of the European Convention on Human Rights?
Speaking at the annual conference of the Conservative Party on October 4, U.K. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon sought to reassure Britain’s nervous allies and the general public…
Whose Armed Conflict? Which Law of Armed Conflict?
When one state, say, the United States, uses military force on the territory of another state, say, Syria or Pakistan, without the consent of that state, what legal rules constrain…
The UK Snooper’s Charter and the Anderson Report on Bulk Powers
In August, the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, released his “Report of the Bulk Powers Review”. He was asked to undertake the review…
Does JASTA Violate International Law?
The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) is now the law of the United States, Congress having overridden President Obama’s veto of the bill. Among other things,…
Would Arming Anti-Assad Rebels Trigger an “International Armed Conflict”—and War Crimes Prosecutions?
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Gulf Arab States are considering arming militant groups in Syria to fend off Assad’s onslaught in Aleppo and elsewhere. There may be…
The UK’s Al-Saadoon Case: Stepping Back From the Extraterritorial Application of the ECHR for Physical Force
On September 9, the United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Al-Saadoon and Others v. Secretary of State for Defence. This is a case dealing with almost 1,300…

Triggers and Thresholds of Non-International Armed Conflict
When and where does the law of non-international armed conflict apply? Since most contemporary armed conflicts are fought between states and organized armed groups, or between…
Aiding and Abetting for Saudi War Crimes: Lessons from Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project
In 2010, human rights organizations argued in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project that if we want to promote compliance with the law of armed conflict, we cannot punish advocacy…
Application of Human Rights Law to Military Actions Abroad: A Recent UK Judgment
Last month, the English High Court issued a judgment in Kontic v. Ministry of Defence, a case that dealt with whether and when the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) applies…
Letter to the Editor: Suggestions for Just Security’s Questions to the Presidential Candidates
I like the idea of Just Security‘s listing questions for the presidential nominees. As you ran them again before last night’s debate, and presumably may run them at…
Just Security’s Questions for Clinton and Trump
Given the importance of tonight’s prime-time debate between US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we’re again running our list of vital national…
Are the U.S. and U.K. parties to the Saudi-led armed conflict against the Houthis in Yemen?
A series of posts at Just Security have focused on the rules that apply to U.S. and U.K. support for the Saudi-led coalition’s military operations against the Houthi rebels…