When Interpol Comes Calling…™
Universal Jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction is a principle in customary international law that establishes a right of jurisdiction in any nation to try individuals accused of international crimes, regardless of where the alleged crime was committed and regardless of the nationalities of the alleged perpetrator(s) or victim(s). Thus, a sovereign jurisdiction can not offer safe haven to its nationals accused of international crimes.
The principle is specific to crimes committed in the international plain, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, and is based in the rationale that such acts constitute immediate offenses to all states and that any state may act to redress the offense. Opponents of universal jurisdiction warn that courts run the risk of becoming political actors or of usurping the sovereign right of states to deal with problems in international relations with regard to past acts.
Universal Jurisdiction in Spain
Early applications of universal jurisdiction in Spain include a 1998 opinion in which the Spanish National High Court held that it was against the spirit of the Geneva Convention Against Genocide to limit jurisdiction to territorially qualified courts or international tribunals because genocide is “regarded as a crime of extreme gravity in the whole world and affects directly the international community, indeed all humanity, as is intended by the same Convention.”
If the lawsuit goes to trial in Spain, the court will apply Spanish national laws prohibiting genocide and crimes against humanity to the facts alleged. It must also defer adjudication to any concurrent charges pending against these defendants in China, should there be any such charges. There are also likely to be extradition issues involved in bringing Chinese nationals into Spanish courts to face international criminal charges.
Links to New and Discussions on Universal Jurisdiction
Spanish National Court Agrees to Assert Universal Jurisdiction in Genocide Case Against Chinese Government, January 2006