International Law
513 Articles
The ICRC Updated Commentaries: Reconciling Form and Substance, Part I
Sean Watts’ July 5, 2016 post focuses attention on two significant documents intended to clarify “how best to read and understand the law of war” in the 21st Century: the…
The Significance of the ICC’s First Guilty Plea
Yesterday Al Faqi Al Mahdi of Mali pled guilty at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to one count of directing an attack against buildings dedicated to religion and historic…
Congress Needs to Press the Pentagon, Saudi Arabia on Abuses in Yemen War
On August 9, one day after the Pentagon notified Congress of its intention to sell $1.2 billion in weapons systems to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led coalition resumed airstrikes on…
The Islamic State, Genocide, and Gender Discrimination
Slowly but surely, over the past two years, the UN and national governments have acknowledged that what the Islamic State is doing to the Yazidi religious minority in Northern…
The PPG Visualized, What the US Kill and Capture Bureaucracy Looks Like
This is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks ahead…
British Forces Hit the Islamic State With ‘the Punisher’ – the Legality of Airburst Munitions
A few days ago, it was reported that British special forces had used a deadly new weapon, nicknamed the Punisher, in a confrontation with ISIL in the Libyan city of Sirte (see…
Chemical Weapons Use Returns to Syria
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
Cybersecurity, Elections, and Critical Infrastructure at Home and Abroad
In the last few days, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco have both suggested that in the wake of the DNC hack, the United States…
Towards a Cyber-Security Treaty
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) leaks revealed last week have presumably reminded many Americans to the severe cyber-threats this country is facing. Particularly alarming…
The Democratic National Committee Hack: Information as Interference
Earlier this month, WikiLeaks released nearly 20,000 e-mails belonging to Democratic National Committee’s top officials, where Senator Bernie Sanders was humiliated and criticized.…
The Good and Bad in the US Government’s Civilian Casualties Announcement
The US government on Friday, July 1 released long-sought information on its views as to how many people it has killed in drone and other strikes “outside areas of active hostilities,”…
The Obama Legal Team and the Lawfulness of Attacking Assad
Editor’s note: This post also appears on Charlie Savage’s blog Power Wars and Lawfare. Several prominent law professors who were formerly members of the Obama national security…