Universal jurisdiction

Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to prosecute individuals for serious crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, regardless of where the crime was committed and irrespective of the accused's nationality or residence. Rooted in the belief that certain offenses are so heinous that they threaten the international community as a whole, universal jurisdiction holds that such acts are beyond the scope of any single nation's laws. Instead, these crimes are considered to violate norms owed to the global community (erga omnes) and fundamental principles of international law (jus cogens), making them prosecutable in any court that invokes this principle.

While universal jurisdiction has been championed by organizations such as Amnesty International for ensuring that perpetrators of grave crimes find no refuge, it remains controversial. Critics, like former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, argue that it undermines national sovereignty and risks turning judicial proceedings into politically motivated trials. The principle gained prominence following the Nuremberg trials after World War II, which prosecuted Nazi officials for crimes against humanity, even when such acts were legal under German law at the time. Since then, it has been invoked in various international tribunals and national courts to address impunity for crimes committed in conflict zones or under repressive regimes.

Notably, universal jurisdiction has been applied in cases like Israel’s prosecution of Adolf Eichmann in 1961, the trials of Rwandan genocide perpetrators, and the prosecution of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) further strengthened this concept, though its use remains contentious, often constrained by political considerations and the practical challenges of enforcing extraterritorial justice.