Universal Jurisdiction

Universal Jurisdiction is a legal principle according to which the court of a state can investigate against and prosecute any person for serious criminal offences that are considered violations of international law, even when they are committed outside the state’s territory and are in no relation to its national interests. Such crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Survey on the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction

A survey on the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction was produced by the Public Committee against Torture (PCATI) in Israel in October 2006 with the purpose of providing an overall and general picture of the current exercise of universal jurisdiction, of the countries that most often apply this practice, and of the international criminals who have been indicted and tried under this system.

Click here to download the survey on the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction (PDF file - 116 KB).

For more publications by the Public Committee against Torture in Israel please click here.  

Additional sources of information:

Trial Watch

“Universal Jurisdiction in Europe. The State of the Art”
(Report issued by Human Rights Watch).

The Center for Justice and Accountability