News of planned military trials for five 9/11 suspects underscores the Obama administration's need to more forcefully defend the necessity of military tribunals if they are to have legitimacy at home and abroad, says CFR's Matthew Waxman.

Obama's targeted drone strikes--even on Americans--aren't illegal, writes Jack Goldsmith for Foreign Policy. In fact, he writes, there's a solid legal foundation and a number of checks and balances upholding his right to take out terrorists.

Targeted killings have become a central component of U.S. counterterrorism operations around the globe. Despite pointed criticism over transparency and accountability issues, analysts say the controversial practice seems likely to expand in the future.

Ambassador David Scheffer and former State Department legal adviser John Bellinger discuss how international justice over the last two decades has affected international politics, including the U.S. role in assisting local war crimes prosecutions in Libya and elsewhere.

Ambassador David Scheffer and former State Department legal adviser John Bellinger discuss how international justice over the last two decades has affected international politics, including the U.S. role in assisting local war crimes prosecutions in Libya and elsewhere.

Ambassador David Scheffer and former State Department legal adviser John Bellinger discuss how international justice over the last two decades has affected international politics, including the U.S. role in assisting local war crimes prosecutions in Libya and elsewhere.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry presented this report in November 23, 2011, with final revisions made by December 10, 2011. The report investigates potential human rights abuses in Bahrain during the protests that took place in February 2011, part of the Arab Uprisings across the Middle East. In Bahrain, the report is known as the Bassiouni Commission, as it was led by Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, who investigated war crimes in Bosnia and Libya for the United Nations.

John B. Bellinger III argues that Libyans should be allowed to choose whether they want to try members of the Qaddafi regime in their own courts.

President Obama vowed in January 2009 to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. Two years later, the White House continues to face challenges to that promise, leaving critics to suggest the facility will remain open for the foreseeable future.

The Charter of the International Military Tribunal, also known as the the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal, was signed in London on August 8, 1945.

David Kaye, executive director of the international human rights program and director of the international justice clinic at the UCLA School of Law, discusses his Council Special Report, Justice Beyond the Hague, with students.

John B. Bellinger III examines the legality of drone strikes used by the United States against al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.

As the uprising continues in Syria, the international community moved to condemn the Assad regime in the aftermath of the government's attacks on the city of Hama. CFR's Elliott Abrams and Robert Danin discuss how these developments affect U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East.

John B. Bellinger III testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the practical benefits that enactment of the Consular Notification Compliance Act of 2011 will have for Americans who are detained and imprisoned by other countries.

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.

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

Recognizing the limitations of current international systems based in The Hague, David A. Kaye provides a strategy for promoting national-level justice and accountability mechanisms to prosecute perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes.

John B. Bellinger III says President Obama should seize the opportunity presented by Republican support for increased domestic oil and gas production to urge the Senate to approve the Law of the Sea Convention.

John B. Bellinger III and Vijay Padmanabhan examine the legal questions surrounding detention for states engaged in conflicts with nonstate groups.