Topic: International Justice
Q&A: Bringing a Case Before the International Court of Justice for the Rights of Afghan Women and Girls
This paper addresses questions around the feasibility of bringing a complaint at the International Court of Justice against Afghanistan's Taliban for egregious and prevalent violations of women’s and girls’ rights.
New Guide Explores Issues around Open Source Evidence in Court
A new guide examines the status of digital open source material as evidence in judicial proceedings, and how should judges and fact-finders approach its analysis.
Syrians Seek UN Rights Ruling against Russia for 2019 Hospital Attacks
A legal complaint seeks justice for Syrian victims of attacks by the Russian air force, and seeks to reinforce protections for health care facilities in war-time.
A Podcast Gives Voice to Syrians Searching for Justice in Europe International Justice
Now in its second series, “The Syria Trials” tells the human stories behind the drive to prosecute al-Assad regime officials for atrocity crimes before European courts.

French Magistrates Seek Arrest of Syria's Al-Assad and Associates for Chemical Weapons Attacks
Arrest warrants for Al-Assad, his brother, and two other senior officials have been issued after an extensive investigation into chemical weapons attacks on civilians in Douma and Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people.
Accountability for Crimes of Personnel of the Wagner Group in Ukraine
A legal analysis of the status of the Wagner Group under international humanitarian law and implications of that status for prosecuting its personnel for international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.
Hanan v. Germany
In 2016, Abdul Hanan, the father of the two boys killed in a German airstrike in Afghanistan, filed a complaint before the European Court for Human Rights alleging that Germany had not conducted an effective investigation into the attack.
Open Society Justice Initiative v. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) et al.
The Justice Initiative seeks the public release by U.S. government agencies of all documents related to the brutal murder in Istanbul of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian dissident writer and editor, and a U.S. permanent resident.
Concern Over Appointment of William Shawcross to Review UK’s Counter Terror Strategy
Open Society Justice Initiative is joining Muslim rights organizations in expressing deep concern about William Shawcross’s suitability for Reviewer of Prevent in the UK, given his record and previous statements on Islam.
Federal Court Orders U.S. Intelligence Agencies to Explain Withholding of Khashoggi Tape and Report
The court found that official acknowledgements—including President Trump's own statements—prevented the government from refusing to acknowledge that it is withholding records and audio tapes about the slain journalist.
Trump Administration Withholds Khashoggi Records, Biden Must End Cover-up and Commit to Transparency
After the Trump administration has failed to release meaningful records, President-elect Biden can demonstrate his administration’s commitment to human rights by releasing records on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Justice Initiative Files Submission Requesting New UK Sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince
The Justice Initiative has made a submission to U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab requesting that he designate the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, as an “involved person” in the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is Deploying a Massive New Database to Gather Biometric Information
A new U.S. Department of Homeland Security biometric database is projected to contain information on hundreds of millions of people by 2022 and represents an alarming development to scale up the agency's surveillance and information-sharing ability.

Justice Initiative Sues Office of the Director of National Intelligence for Khashoggi Report
The Open Society Justice Initiative has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to immediately make public its assessment of who is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Justice Initiative Calls on U.S. to Deploy Global Magnitsky Act to Curb COVID-19 Rights and Corruption Abuses
The Open Society Justice Initiative is calling on the U.S. government to use the Global Magnitsky Act to address human rights abuses and corruption related to COVID-19 pandemic responses around the world.
The UK's Prevent Strategy Review is Fundamentally Flawed
The credibility of the UK government's supposedly Independent Review of its Prevent strategy is undermined by the narrow scope of its terms of reference, and the lack of independence of its head.
Justice Initiative Warns against Dropping Inquiry Demand in CIA Kidnap Case
The Open Society Justice Initiative is urging continued European pressure on North Macedonia to properly investigate its role in the kidnapping, torture and rendition to Afghanistan of Khaled el-Masri, a German national, as required by a landmark 2012 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.
The Case of Khaled el-Masri v. FYRO Macedonia
An update on the implementation of the European Court of Human Rights ruling in the case of Khaled el-Masri, a Germany national who was seized and detained in 2004 i in what was then the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and handed over to the CIA and rendered to Afghanistan.
Federal Court Issues First Decision Against U.S. Government in Khashoggi Records Case
A federal district court in New York issued its first judgement on Open Society Justice Initiative’s lawsuit seeking the immediate release of government records related to Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi FOIA Case Documents Available Online
The Open Society Justice Initiative has begun to publish online materials released by the U.S. government, in response to a Freedom of Information Act petition seeking the release of records relating to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.