Thanks to a once-obscure law passed in 1789, foreign victims of foreign human rights abusers can use U.S. courts to sue their abusers. But the Supreme Court may soon ban such suits. That would be a shame, since they offer victims some measure of solace and give substance to underenforced human rights laws. The law should be upheld, and other countries should follow the U.S. lead.

The link between crime and the state is neither as new nor as scary as Moisés Naím depicted it, argues Peter Andreas; after all, criminals have been corrupting governments for centuries.

Is international humanitarianism an act of charity or an act of duty? In fact, it is both -- a gift we have to give.

A decade on, the ICC is still trying to find its footing, thanks partly from the chief prosecutor's poor management and excessive ambition.

Governments across the Middle East and South Asia are increasingly losing power to substate actors that are inserting themselves at a mezzanine level of rule between the government and the people.

Old international institutions must be updated to tackle transnational challenges.

International law must find a way to combat modern threats, but it cannot diminish U.S. sovereignty in doing so.

The limits of judicial reasoning in the post-9/11 world.

Throughout the humanitarian crises of the 1990s, the international community failed to come up with rules on how and when to intervene, and under whose authority. Despite the new focus on terrorism, these debates will not go away. The issue must be reframed as an argument not about the "right to intervene" but about the "reponsibility to protect" that all sovereign states owe to their citizens.

This academic module features teaching notes by author Ashley S. Deeks for the Council Special Report Avoiding Transfers to Torture, along with additional resources to supplement the text. In this report, Ms. Deeks addresses the dilemma that occurs when the United States obtains assurances that released detainees will not be tortured by their home countries upon return, guarantees that are an important tool for dealing with dangerous suspects.

This module features teaching notes by former CFR senior fellow Lee Feinstein, the author of Darfur and Beyond, along with other resources to supplement the text. In the report, Feinstein argues that the new UN secretary-general should take the General Assembly's endorsement of responsibility to protect as a mandate and outlines steps the United States and others must follow to bolster UN action. 

The International Criminal Court's warrants for the arrest of Libya's Qaddafi stir debate about whether they will facilitate or hinder his demise and about the effectiveness of the ICC itself.

President Obama has reinforced his call to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, saying its flaws have weakened national security. But his plans for transferring detainees remain unclear and political battles loom.

The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for abuses committed in Darfur. The historic move augurs further upheaval for troubled Sudan.

A move to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir meets a sharp response from Arab and African leaders and raises questions about the future of Sudan's peace process.