There are over 150 cases that are investigated under the universal jurisdiction principle in France. A lot are about crimes committed in Rwanda in 1994 but many others involve more recent crimes in countries such as Syria and Iraq. What explains this massive increase of universal jurisdiction cases in France?
Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that engages national courts in fulfilling their obligations to prosecute individuals for serious international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture) even when committed beyond their immediate borders. But how does it work in France? And how does it compare, for instance, with The Netherlands? Our partners at Asymmetrical Haircuts asked human rights lawyer Jeanne Sulzer to explain the quite peculiar and dynamic French landscape. In which cases does the principle apply in France, and how and why is this country able to utilise it effectively? What’s gradually emerging is a range of cases showing that – if these individuals have ties to France and a case can be built against them – they are fair game. But there is more to that, as shown in the Lumbala case. And here is also a link to Amnesty International France’s map tracking what’s going on that you can help update.
ASYMMETRICAL HAIRCUTS
This podcast has been published as part of a partnership between Justice Info and Asymmetrical Haircuts, a podcast on international justice produced from The Hague by journalists Janet Anderson and Stephanie van den Berg, who retain full control and independence over the contents of the podcast.
