Lex Specialis
30 Articles
Human Rights in Armed Conflict, Part II
In my previous post, I took seriously Jonathan Horowitz’s concern that some States believe that the application of international humanitarian law (IHL) may displace or reduce…
Human Rights in Armed Conflict, Part I
When powerful States adopt a mistaken view of international law, should we—scholars, practitioners, and activists—resist their view and insist on our own? Or should we regard…
UK Government’s Response on Drone Strikes Policy Leaves British Parliament Wanting More
A heads-up to Just Security readers: The UK government has responded to the British Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) report on the use of drones for targeted…
The Perverse and Unintended Consequences of Serdar Mohammed v. Defence
An important case in the United Kingdom (Serdar Mohammed v. Defence) and a major statement by the UN Human Rights Committee (General Comment 35) come to the wrong legal conclusion:…
U.N. Committee Criticizes U.S. Record on Torture, Praises U.S. on Extraterritorial Reach of Treaty
On Friday, the United Nations Committee against Torture released its report (full text) on U.S. compliance with the Convention Against Torture. The Committee’s review included…
Targeting Transparency: A Call for DoD to Automatically Release Investigations of Civilian Casualties in Armed Conflict
There has been much discussion on the lack of demonstrable government follow through after President Obama’s 2013 claims of increased transparency of US lethal targeting of suspected…
Does IHL Need Human Rights Law?: The Curious Case of NIAC Detention
As Ryan noted last week, the United Kingdom’s High Court ruled in Serdar Mohammed v. Ministry of Defense that the United Kingdom’s 110-day detention of a suspected Taliban…
Do “Extrajudicial Releases” of Afghan Detainees Violate International Law?: The Missing Legal Arguments
Today’s release of detainees by Afghan authorities, from the Parwan detention facility near Bagram airfield, has met with strong responses by the US embassy in Kabul (here) and…
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…
Human Rights Groups Release Investigation Reports into US Targeted Killings: A Guide to the Issues
Today, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) released two detailed studies of US targeted killings in Yemen and Pakistan, putting forward specific evidence of…
UN Drone Strike Inquiry: Summary of the New Interim Report
Today, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and countering terrorism, Ben Emmerson QC, issued an interim report on his international investigation into drone strikes and targeted…
United States Report to the UN Human Rights Committee: Lex Specialis and Extraterritoriality
The United States was poised to present its views tomorrow to the Human Rights Committee, which monitors state parties’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil…