Rule of Law
703 Articles
Secret Law, Targeting, and the Problem of Standards: A Response to Dakota Rudesill
In his recent posts and an article, Dakota Rudesill tackles the phenomenon of secret law. Dakota persuasively describes a growing body secret law, which he defines as “legal…
It’s Time to Come to Terms With Secret Law: Part II
On Wednesday, I summarized the findings of my recent study of alleged secret law in the three branches of the US government and my conclusion that secret law is a limited but important…
It’s Time to Come to Terms With Secret Law: Part I
Secret law. The words are chilling. They evoke Kafka, unaccountable government, liberty subordinated to state security – and to some ears, perhaps simply the paranoid rantings…
International Justice Day Round-Up III: Salvadoran Amnesty Law, Germany Apologizes to Namibia over Genocide, Corporate Criminality, and Colombia Ceasefire
This is Part III of an international criminal justice round-up covering ten of the top developments in the field this spring and summer. Part I is here and covers the Habré case,…
Guest Post: What is FBI Director Comey Doing?
Amidst the furor following the FBI and Justice Department’s decision not to charge Hillary Clinton for the handling of her State Department emails, there has been much less attention…
The government’s treatment of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations [updated]
The government has just released two important documents. One is an assessment by the Director of National Intelligence of the cumulative civilian casualties from U.S. counterterrorism…
International & US Support for Transitional Justice Initiatives
My prior post discussed new policy papers on transitional justice issued by the US State Department and US AID. These policy papers reflect the fact that the United States’…
A Less-Secret Drone Campaign
Stephen Whisler, Predators and Reapers 2012, pastel on paper This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor…
Recap of Recent Posts on Just Security (June 4–10)
I. Cybersecurity Kristen Eichensehr, Giving Up on Cybersecurity — Strategically (Monday, June 6) II. Surveillance & Intelligence Jennifer Daskal, Beware of the Emergency…
Sparring Over the 9/11 Trial Recusal Motion
Anyone who’s been following the military commission prosecution of the five alleged 9/11 plotters at Guantánamo Bay is likely familiar with some of the absurd happenings in…
Recap of the Recent Posts on Just Security (May 21–27)
I. Guantánamo Jen Daskal, Guilty Pleas For GTMO Detainees (Without Ever Setting Foot on US Soil) (Monday, May 23) II. Transparency, Legality & the the Use of Force David…
Transparency, Review, and Relief: The Far-Reaching Implications of the Kunduz Report
Thus far, many discussions of the US military’s release of a 120-page detailed report of the lawfulness of its attack on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) facility in Kunduz,…