Bec Hamilton
@bechamilton.bsky.social
Law Prof at AUWCL |Exec. Editor at Just Security |Mama of 4 fab young ppl |Fmr Washington Post, Reuters, International Criminal Court| Atrocity prevention, tech, climate |Proud #firstgen | Open water swimmer|
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
Kudos to @martylederman.bsky.social , who’s most responsible for this good result.
The crux of the majority’s reasoning is here. The issue was barely touched in the lower courts but @martylederman.bsky.social highlighted it in amicus brief to SCOTUS, prompting the justices to invite supplemental briefing from the parties.
December 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Kudos to @martylederman.bsky.social , who’s most responsible for this good result.
Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut Had Something to Say. We Have It on Tape. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/b...
Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut Had Something to Say. We Have It on Tape.
www.nytimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Joan Didion and Kurt Vonnegut Had Something to Say. We Have It on Tape. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/b...
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
This is an immensely important step in removing a statutory authorization that had long outlived its original intended purpose, and was primed to be used in unexpected and potentially problematic ways.
Great to see bipartisan leadership from Sens. Kaine and Young yield results like this.
Great to see bipartisan leadership from Sens. Kaine and Young yield results like this.
Huge news: after many years, my bipartisan bill with Senator Todd Young to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force against Iraq was signed into law. This is a historic win for Americans and allows us to close the book on this forever war.
December 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
This is an immensely important step in removing a statutory authorization that had long outlived its original intended purpose, and was primed to be used in unexpected and potentially problematic ways.
Great to see bipartisan leadership from Sens. Kaine and Young yield results like this.
Great to see bipartisan leadership from Sens. Kaine and Young yield results like this.
The idea is to offer some additional short readings to prompt class discussion – especially in relation to recent or current events that may not yet be in casebooks.
Jus Ad Bellum supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127518/jus-a...
IHL supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127521/inter...
Jus Ad Bellum supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127518/jus-a...
IHL supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127521/inter...
December 19, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The idea is to offer some additional short readings to prompt class discussion – especially in relation to recent or current events that may not yet be in casebooks.
Jus Ad Bellum supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127518/jus-a...
IHL supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127521/inter...
Jus Ad Bellum supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127518/jus-a...
IHL supplement: www.justsecurity.org/127521/inter...
With immense thanks to the corpus of stellar @justsecurity.org analysis on international humanitarian law, I hope those preparing for Spring semester courses can benefit from this curated supplement. Please share with anyone who could use!
Teaching a legal course this semester where recent armed conflict events are relevant, or know someone who is?
The IHL Syllabus Supplement connects educators with salient law and policy discussions.
Curated from JS archives by @bechamilton.bsky.social and Danae Askar.
The IHL Syllabus Supplement connects educators with salient law and policy discussions.
Curated from JS archives by @bechamilton.bsky.social and Danae Askar.
International Humanitarian Law: Syllabus Supplements
This syllabus supplement offers curated articles intended to be combined with traditional casebooks in a law or higher ed classroom.
www.justsecurity.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:17 PM
With immense thanks to the corpus of stellar @justsecurity.org analysis on international humanitarian law, I hope those preparing for Spring semester courses can benefit from this curated supplement. Please share with anyone who could use!
Recalling this for no reason in particular: www.facebook.com/FirstWeFeast...
4.2K views · 42 reactions | Introducing Trump Steaks—"The World's Greatest Steaks" | First We Feast
Introducing Trump Steaks—"The World's Greatest Steaks"
www.facebook.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Recalling this for no reason in particular: www.facebook.com/FirstWeFeast...
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
Updated timeline with 3 more strikes, killing 8 more people 👇
Reminder: all of the strikes are extrajudicial killings that #Trump ordered and the military is carrying out.
They aren't war crimes (we're not at war), they are murder and crimes against humanity.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
Reminder: all of the strikes are extrajudicial killings that #Trump ordered and the military is carrying out.
They aren't war crimes (we're not at war), they are murder and crimes against humanity.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
Timeline of Boat Strikes and Related Actions
A timeline that chronicles major events in the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers.
www.justsecurity.org
December 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Updated timeline with 3 more strikes, killing 8 more people 👇
Reminder: all of the strikes are extrajudicial killings that #Trump ordered and the military is carrying out.
They aren't war crimes (we're not at war), they are murder and crimes against humanity.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
Reminder: all of the strikes are extrajudicial killings that #Trump ordered and the military is carrying out.
They aren't war crimes (we're not at war), they are murder and crimes against humanity.
www.justsecurity.org/124002/timel...
Fantastic news for the COI
Honored to serve on the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic.
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Human Rights Council President appoints Members of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
GENEVA - The President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Jürg Lauber (Switzerland), has appointed Monia Ammar (Tunisia) and Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (Republic of Ireland) to serve as members of the U...
www.ohchr.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Fantastic news for the COI
“Then there is the question of how this affects the children.…Women can be impossible to find again, along with their updated medical histories, records and any genetic half-siblings.
A whole generation has been born of this international assemblage.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
A whole generation has been born of this international assemblage.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
They Answered an Ad for Surrogates, and Found Themselves in a Nightmare
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:59 PM
“Then there is the question of how this affects the children.…Women can be impossible to find again, along with their updated medical histories, records and any genetic half-siblings.
A whole generation has been born of this international assemblage.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
A whole generation has been born of this international assemblage.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/14/m...
The Pentagon press corps were the shining light in this bleak reporting period for walking out en masse instead of signing the "pledge." But on press freedom in the U.S., deported journalist Mario Guevara is right: "It's damaged" @penamerica.bsky.social
Lawsuits, access restrictions, rhetoric, a deportation – President Trump and his administration have escalated hostile actions against media in the U.S.
Law Prof. and former journalist @bechamilton.bsky.social keeps track of the big picture in the latest update of her #PressFreedom tracker:
Law Prof. and former journalist @bechamilton.bsky.social keeps track of the big picture in the latest update of her #PressFreedom tracker:
Trump Administration and Media: Keeping Track of the Big Picture
This graphic tracks the use of State power to help identify linkages between individual developments and broader trends.
www.justsecurity.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:37 PM
The Pentagon press corps were the shining light in this bleak reporting period for walking out en masse instead of signing the "pledge." But on press freedom in the U.S., deported journalist Mario Guevara is right: "It's damaged" @penamerica.bsky.social
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
“Both @milleridriss.bsky.social & @maryannefranks.bsky.social are feminist scholars with impeccable academic credentials, who have mastered the tough art of making scholarship accessible to a mainstream audience. Both also use their knowledge to advance real-world change”🧪
@bechamilton.bsky.social
@bechamilton.bsky.social
December 7, 2025 at 4:13 PM
“Both @milleridriss.bsky.social & @maryannefranks.bsky.social are feminist scholars with impeccable academic credentials, who have mastered the tough art of making scholarship accessible to a mainstream audience. Both also use their knowledge to advance real-world change”🧪
@bechamilton.bsky.social
@bechamilton.bsky.social
For must-read Sunday, a tour de force @justsecurity.org - one stop, legally rigorous & also accessible explanation of the legal landscape: www.justsecurity.org/126553/opera...
Operation Southern Spear: Why the Crews, Drugs, and Boats are Not Targetable
A deep dive on the international law applicable to the U.S. military's lethal operations against suspected drug boats
www.justsecurity.org
December 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
For must-read Sunday, a tour de force @justsecurity.org - one stop, legally rigorous & also accessible explanation of the legal landscape: www.justsecurity.org/126553/opera...
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
This is the big story:
1) The President ordered a killing campaign outside of the law.
2) He got OLC to make up a fake war to justify killing real people.
3) And he got the military to carry out the killings.
Purporting to justify those killings is aiding in covering up that plain reality 👇
2/2
1) The President ordered a killing campaign outside of the law.
2) He got OLC to make up a fake war to justify killing real people.
3) And he got the military to carry out the killings.
Purporting to justify those killings is aiding in covering up that plain reality 👇
2/2
December 5, 2025 at 10:46 PM
This is the big story:
1) The President ordered a killing campaign outside of the law.
2) He got OLC to make up a fake war to justify killing real people.
3) And he got the military to carry out the killings.
Purporting to justify those killings is aiding in covering up that plain reality 👇
2/2
1) The President ordered a killing campaign outside of the law.
2) He got OLC to make up a fake war to justify killing real people.
3) And he got the military to carry out the killings.
Purporting to justify those killings is aiding in covering up that plain reality 👇
2/2
First sanction issued by the EU under the DSA came out this afternoon: Against X for $140B) see www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
X gets $140 million EU fine for breaching content rules but TikTok settles
Elon Musk's social media company X was fined 120 million euros ($140 million) by EU tech regulators on Friday for breaching online content rules, the first sanction under landmark legislation that onc...
www.reuters.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
First sanction issued by the EU under the DSA came out this afternoon: Against X for $140B) see www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
NEW info on shipwreck attack. It gets worse.
The 2 survivors climbed atop wreckage and waved to overhead.
"Some of the people viewing the video thought ... could have been an attempt to surrender"
Others "said the most logical explanation was ... signaling for a rescue."
1/
The 2 survivors climbed atop wreckage and waved to overhead.
"Some of the people viewing the video thought ... could have been an attempt to surrender"
Others "said the most logical explanation was ... signaling for a rescue."
1/
December 5, 2025 at 7:50 PM
NEW info on shipwreck attack. It gets worse.
The 2 survivors climbed atop wreckage and waved to overhead.
"Some of the people viewing the video thought ... could have been an attempt to surrender"
Others "said the most logical explanation was ... signaling for a rescue."
1/
The 2 survivors climbed atop wreckage and waved to overhead.
"Some of the people viewing the video thought ... could have been an attempt to surrender"
Others "said the most logical explanation was ... signaling for a rescue."
1/
To be clear - I have no quibble with the basic legal analysis here - just the application to the facts in Sudan
Sorry, but anyone claiming that the RSF is a “new actor” does not know enough about Sudan to be opining on it. www.ejiltalk.org/legal-limits...
Legal Limits for the ICC’s Jurisdiction over International Crimes Committed in Sudan
On 3 November 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced investigations into crimes allegedly committed in Darfur since the outbreak of hostilities in April...
www.ejiltalk.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:03 PM
To be clear - I have no quibble with the basic legal analysis here - just the application to the facts in Sudan
Sorry, but anyone claiming that the RSF is a “new actor” does not know enough about Sudan to be opining on it. www.ejiltalk.org/legal-limits...
Legal Limits for the ICC’s Jurisdiction over International Crimes Committed in Sudan
On 3 November 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced investigations into crimes allegedly committed in Darfur since the outbreak of hostilities in April...
www.ejiltalk.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Sorry, but anyone claiming that the RSF is a “new actor” does not know enough about Sudan to be opining on it. www.ejiltalk.org/legal-limits...
If you read one thing today, make it this: Trump’s Boat Strikes Corrode America’s Soul www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o... (It also reinforces by strong belief that we need novelists, artists, playwrights - as much as we need lawyers in this moment)
Opinion | Trump’s Boat Strikes Corrode America’s Soul
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:49 AM
If you read one thing today, make it this: Trump’s Boat Strikes Corrode America’s Soul www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o... (It also reinforces by strong belief that we need novelists, artists, playwrights - as much as we need lawyers in this moment)
Shout this from the rooftops. Stop talking about laws of war. This is straight up murder. Period.
Here we go -a few reminders to those covering this:
- These are killings outside of armed conflict
- There is no self-defense justification for the killings
- That makes them extrajudicial killings under int'l law; murder under domestic law
- No label ("narcoterrorist" or "DTO") changes any of that
- These are killings outside of armed conflict
- There is no self-defense justification for the killings
- That makes them extrajudicial killings under int'l law; murder under domestic law
- No label ("narcoterrorist" or "DTO") changes any of that
December 5, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Shout this from the rooftops. Stop talking about laws of war. This is straight up murder. Period.
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
SPA's @milleridriss.bsky.social ends her essay in the Sydney Herald with prescient words: “We can either engage in these conversations with the young men in our lives, or we can let the internet do it for us. There are plenty of influencers and profiteers waiting in the wings.” Read: bit.ly/4pNFG4n
Violence, racism and antisemitism – it all starts with women
How misogyny acts as a Trojan horse for the extreme right.
bit.ly
December 2, 2025 at 7:50 PM
SPA's @milleridriss.bsky.social ends her essay in the Sydney Herald with prescient words: “We can either engage in these conversations with the young men in our lives, or we can let the internet do it for us. There are plenty of influencers and profiteers waiting in the wings.” Read: bit.ly/4pNFG4n
I hear from so many of you that you rely on our Early Edition to get you oriented for the day. Please help us keep this, and so much else @justsecurity.org going for #givingTuesday justsecurity.org/donate/
December 2, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I hear from so many of you that you rely on our Early Edition to get you oriented for the day. Please help us keep this, and so much else @justsecurity.org going for #givingTuesday justsecurity.org/donate/
An awful addition to the list for those of us tracking this Administration’s attacks on #pressfreedom www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/
Media Offenders
Explore the Media Bias Tracker that fact checks and holds Fake News accountable. False claims debunked, Hall of Shame for serial offenders, Leaderboard of networks ranked by Repeated Lies. Stay inform...
www.whitehouse.gov
December 1, 2025 at 4:44 PM
An awful addition to the list for those of us tracking this Administration’s attacks on #pressfreedom www.whitehouse.gov/mediabias/
Reposted by Bec Hamilton
This is not a plan for peace. It is a plan for Russian victory and Ukrainian capitulation, argues Christian Caryl.
Don’t Call This a ‘Peace Plan’
If the U.S.-Russia plan for Ukraine goes forward, Donald Trump will be remembered as the Neville Chamberlain of the 21st century.
foreignpolicy.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:30 PM
This is not a plan for peace. It is a plan for Russian victory and Ukrainian capitulation, argues Christian Caryl.