Universal jurisdiction as a tool to prosecute international crimes

Abstract

In certain circumstances, the international community cannot effectively create the institutional framework for the prosecution of international crimes. In order for such grave crimes not to go unpunished, individual states, through their domestic courts, have the possibility to step in and cover the limitations of international tribunals. The available tool that enables this is the institution of universal jurisdiction. This study will focus first on the permissive universal jurisdiction, that particular strain of universal jurisdiction that enables states to prosecute international crimes without the related obligation to do so. In the second chapter the focus will shift towards the analysis of the duty to prosecute and the mandatory universal jurisdiction. The first two chapters will provide the definitions, limits, historical background, and an analysis of how different international crimes interact with the two types of universal jurisdiction. The article will end with a comparative study of how different states have implemented universal jurisdiction into their own legislation and case law.