universal jurisdiction – Page 2 – International Justice Resource Center

The U.S. appears before the Committee Against Torture

Human Rights Experts Call for Prosecution, Reparations in Wake of U.S. Torture Report

December 16, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, Inter-American System, liberty & security of person, reparations, security & rule of law, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction

On Tuesday, December 9, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Intelligence Committee) published a report detailing the “abuses and countless mistakes” of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) detention and interrogation program in the years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. See Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program:

UNGA Sixth Committee Advances Discussion of Universal Jurisdiction

November 17, 2014 IJRC UN General Assembly, universal jurisdiction

On November 7, 2014, the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly wrapped up discussions of universal jurisdiction with an oral report and informal working paper presented by the Chairwoman of the Working Group on the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, during the 69th regular session of the General Assembly. [UN Press Release] The principle

Argentina and South Africa Pursue Human Rights Abusers in Spain and Zimbabwe

November 5, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, enforced disappearance, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, universal jurisdiction

Last week, South Africa and Argentina took major steps forward in the investigation and prosecution of alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Spain, respectively. On October 30, the South African Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the South African Police Service is obligated to investigate crimes against humanity, including torture, committed by Zimbabwean police in March 2007. [SALC

Extraordinary African Chambers: Hybrid Court to Try Former Chad Dictator Hissène Habré

February 13, 2013 IJRC African System, crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, extrajudicial executions, International Court of Justice, international human rights, internationalized criminal tribunals, torture, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction

The Extraordinary African Chambers, a special criminal court, opened on February 8, 2013 in the West African nation of Senegal to prepare a case against former Chadian president Hissène Habré. [NY Times] Habré has been accused of responsibility for the deaths of more than 40,000 people and the torture of more than 20,000 during his eight-year rule of Chad, from 1982

Guatemala Abrogates Attempt to Limit the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Jurisdiction

January 23, 2013 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international human rights, massacres, torture, transitional justice, universal jurisdiction

On January 17, 2013, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina announced the derogation of a resolution that would have attempted to limit the Inter-American Court of Human Right’s jurisdiction over alleged human rights violations that took place before 1987. [IACHR; Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos] In December 2012, the Guatemalan Congress passed Resolution 370-2012, the purpose of which was to restrict the Inter-American Court of

UK Exercises Universal Jurisdiction to Prosecute Nepalese Colonel for Torture

January 9, 2013 IJRC domestic courts, international human rights, torture, universal jurisdiction

On Thursday, January 3, 2013, British Metropolitan Police arrested Colonel Kumar Lama, a former Nepalese army officer, during a visit with his wife and children at their home in East Sussex, England. [BBC] Col. Lama was charged with two counts of torture allegedly committed in 2005 during Nepal’s civil war and faces trial in Britain. Charges and Basis of British

Judge Garzón Challenges Prosecution for Investigation of Franco-Era Abuses

March 27, 2011 IJRC domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, UN Special Procedures, universal jurisdiction

London-based human rights organization The International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS) has filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón against the Spanish government, challenging Judge Garzón’s criminal prosecution for malfeasance, initiated by private groups in response to his judicial investigation of crimes committed under the Franco dictatorship. [INTERIGHTS;

Spain's Baltasar Garzón Faces Prosecution for Investigation of Franco-Era Crimes

April 8, 2010 IJRC domestic courts, universal jurisdiction

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón will be tried in connection with his judicial investigation into the enforced disappearances of thousands of individuals and other atrocities committed during Spain’s civil war (1936-1939) and the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco (1939-1975). Charges against the judge were brought by private actors, two right-wing interest groups, one of which was the State political party (Falange