The universal jurisdiction rule allows the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity in the courts of any country, regardless of where or when the crimes were committed and the nationality of the victims or the accused. If applied effectively and fairly, the universal jurisdiction rule could be an extremely important tool for combating the most serious human rights abuses. This short publication explains the rule, sets out the arguments that support its use and examines some of the ethical, practical, and legal problems that arise in trying to apply it.
Biographical affiliation was accurate when research took place.
David Petrasek, Research Director, ICHRP, 1998-2002. For more information on this project, please contact Fairouz El Tom, Research and Publications Officer, ICHRP.
The report was also written by Peggy Hicks, former Deputy High Representative for Human Rights in Bosnia.
Amnesty International, Universal Jurisdiction: 14 Principles on the Effective Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction, AI Index: IOR 53/01/99, May 1999.
Amnesty International, United Kingdom: The Pinochet case – Universal jurisdiction and the absence of immunity for crimes against humanity, AI Index: EUR 45/01/99, January 1999.
International Commission of Jurists, Crimes Against Humanity: Pinochet Faces Justice, July 1999.
International Law Association, “The Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Respect of Gross Human Rights Offences”, First report to the Committee on Human Rights Law and Practice, Report of the Sixty-Eighth Conference (Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, 24-30 May 1998), London, 1998, pages 563-576.
International Committee of the Red Cross, National Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law: Information Kit, Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law, ICRC Publications.
——— National Implementation of International Humanitarian Law, Annual Report 1998, Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law, ICRC Publications.
——— Répression Nationale des Violations du Droit International Humanitaire (Systèmes Romano-Germaniques), Rapport de la réunion d’experts, (Genève, Switzerland, 23-25 septembre 1997), Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law, ICRC Publications.
