North America

[Federico Jarast is Jefe de Trabajos Prácticos at Buenos Aires University School of Law. He has served as Legal Adviser at the General Direction of Legal Affairs of the Argentine Presidency and worked as an Associate at Guglielmino Derecho Internacional.] In less than a week, 2026 has proved that it will spare no efforts in shaking the foundations of international law. For...

[Davit Khachatryan is an international law expert and lecturer specializing in public international law, alternative dispute resolution, investment law, international humanitarian law, and security] A short video clip circulating online appears to show a US strike on a small vessel at sea, followed by imagery that has been read as suggesting that there were survivors in the water. The clip has...

[Milena Sterio is James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law at Cleveland State University College of Law and Managing Director of the Public International Law and Policy Group] The United States’ attack on Venezuela, as well as the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, have no justification in international law or international relations. This post will first discuss...

[Dr. Cyril Laucci is Lead Counsel for the Defense at the International Criminal Court] For the ICC, 2025 will have been the year of US sanctions. These sanctions took shape as early as February 6 with the signing of Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court”. This order placed Prosecutor Karim Khan at the top of a list...

[Elke Schwarz is a professor of political theory at Queen Mary University London] The U.S. National Security Strategy is a strange document. Many have commented – favourable or disparagingly – on its brevity and its accessible language. The form of the document is a simple, 33-page delineation of ‘What America Wants’ and ‘How it Will get It.’ It is a policy...

[Dr Chiara Redaelli is a research fellow at the University of Geneva, IHL and ICL expert with the International Development Law Organization Ukraine Office and co-editor in chief of the on the Use of Force and International Law] From Drug Boats to Battlefields? The United States’ Classification of the “War on Drugs” In September 2025, the Trump administration began describing U.S. counter-narcotics...

[Dr Chiara Redaelli is a research fellow at the University of Geneva, IHL and ICL expert with the International Development Law Organization Ukraine Office and co-editor in chief of the on the Use of Force and International Law] From Drug Boats to Battlefields? The United States’ Case for Using Force against Cartels Since early September 2025, the United States has carried out...

[Jessica Zhu graduated with honors from Stanford University and is now a student at Stanford Law School, where she is executive editor of the Stanford Law Review. Beth Van Schaack is a Distinguished Fellow with Stanford’s Center for Human Rights & International Justice and the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. She is a co-founder and principal with the Alliance for Diplomacy &...

[Jessica Zhu graduated with honors from Stanford University and is now a student at Stanford Law School, where she is executive editor of the Stanford Law Review. Beth Van Schaack is a Distinguished Fellow with Stanford’s Center for Human Rights & International Justice and the former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. She is a co-founder and principal with the Alliance for...

[Jessica Dorsey is an Assistant Professor of International Law at Utrecht University School of Law, an Executive Board Member of Airwars, and the Managing Editor of Opinio Juris.] In a New York Times essay published last week, Jeh Johnson, General Counsel of the Department of Defense in President Barack Obama’s first term and Director of Homeland Security in his second, seeks...

[Bernadette Lumbela is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg] The Trump administration’s shifts in U.S. foreign economic policy have had far-reaching global effects. While many countries have felt the impact of tariffs, two measures are particularly concerning for countries with lower income: cuts to USAID (United States Agency for International...