International and Foreign
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Counting Universal Jurisdiction States: What’s Wrong with Amnesty International’s Numbers [Updated]
[Update: Kevin Jon Heller replies to Ryan’s post over at Opinio Juris. And Ryan responds to Kevin. Hugo Relva, Legal Adviser at Amnesty International submitted a Letter to the…

The Unexceptional Nature of the South African Universal Jurisdiction Law
In the wake of the moving funeral of Nelson Mandela, we have reported on the recent ruling of the South African Supreme Court of Appeal mandating that the National Prosecution…

Drones Strikes Kill 18 in Yemen This Week — More Transparency is Needed
The alleged US drone strike that reportedly killed up to 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen on Thursday is just one more reason why the Obama administration has to start…

Universal Jurisdiction: The South African Chapter
In the latest judicial ruling to grapple with issues of universal jurisdiction, South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal handed down a judgment in late November that could potentially…

International Human Rights Law and Preventive (Security) Detention: A European Exceptionalism?
1. Ryan Goodman is right when he states, in an earlier post on Just Security, that “a significant body of international human rights law clearly permits, and regulates, preventive…

Preview — Hassan v. UK
Tomorrow (December 11, 2013) the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the ECtHR) will hear the case of Hassan v. United Kingdom (Application No. 29750/09). The…

Enforcing all the Security Council Resolutions: Who Comes to the Peace Table and Why Inclusivity Matters
The Geneva II peace conference faces tough challenges, as Gen. Salim Idris, the head of the opposition group Free Syrian Army stated recently, “We will not stop fighting at all,…

A Review of the Special Rapporteur Reports Regarding “Drones” and the Use of Lethal Force
Background The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns, recently reported on the topic of the use of lethal force through armed…

Breaking News: Security Council Authorizes Robust Peacekeeping Mandate for CAR
[The full text of Resolution 2127 is now available.] An important development this morning in the Security Council to respond to a recent upsurge in violence in the Central African…

UN Secretary General Calls for More Transparency About Drone Use
The United Nations Secretary-General has released a new report (A/2013/689) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which devotes significant attention to current drone…

Summary of New Report from the ICRC
Last month, the ICRC released a 90-plus page report titled, “The Use of Force in Armed Conflict: Interplay between the Conduct of Hostilities and Law Enforcement Paradigms.”…

Is the Draft UN Resolution on the Right to Privacy a Trojan Horse for Libertarians?
In response to recent revelations of NSA foreign surveillance programs, the UN General Assembly appears poised to adopt a Resolution on the international right to privacy. Because…