Universal jurisdiction
Trying people wherever they are, whatever their nationality
Universal jurisdiction enables national judicial systems to try individuals, regardless of their nationality or the place where the crimes were committed. This justice approach deals with international crimes committed a long time ago, as during the civil wars in Liberia, or when no other jurisdiction, international or national, is able or willing to try them,, as in the case of Syria. As with the trials of Rwandans in several European countries (for genocide), the trial of Gambian Ousman Sonko (accused of crimes against humanity in Switzerland) or of Chadian Hissein Habré, tried and convicted in Senegal (for crimes committed in Chad in the 1980s). Discover universal jurisdiction through the news documented by our experts.
The 2013 Tadamon massacre looms over Germany’s latest Syria trial
Videos of the Tadamon massacre of 2013, after being widely circulated on social networks, are being used as evidence in Germany’s latest universal jurisdiction trial. While defendant Ahmed H., a Syrian driver and alleged militiaman, is not accused of any involvement in the massacre, his case could shed some light on the mass executions and […]
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