Editing Universal jurisdiction (section)

==Universal jurisdiction enforcement around the world==
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===Argentina===
On 14 February 2025, a court in Argentina, acting on a petition from the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK and citing universal jurisdiction, issued arrest warrants against several officials in Myanmar, including junta leader [[Min Aung Hlaing]], former president [[Htin Kyaw]], and former state counsellor [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] on charges of "[[Rohingya genocide|genocide and crimes against humanity]]" against the [[Rohingya]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-15 |title=Argentine court issues warrants for Myanmar officials accused of Rohingya 'genocide' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250214-argentine-court-issues-warrants-for-myanmar-officials-accused-of-rohingya-genocide |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=France 24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Australia===
The High Court of Australia confirmed the authority of the Australian Parliament, under the Australian Constitution, to exercise universal jurisdiction over war crimes in the ''[[Polyukhovich v Commonwealth]]'' case of 1991.

===Belgium===
{{main|War Crimes Law (Belgium)}}
In 1993, Belgium's Parliament passed a "law of universal jurisdiction" (sometimes referred to as "Belgium's genocide law"), allowing the state to prosecute people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. In 2001, four Rwandan citizens were convicted and given sentences from 12 to 20 years' imprisonment for their involvement in 1994 [[Rwandan genocide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/french/press/2003/justice02.htm |title=Belgique : Questions et Réponses sur la loi de Compétence Universelle |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=18 February 2012}}</ref> There was a rapid succession of cases:
* Prime Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] was accused of involvement in the 1982 [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]] in Lebanon, conducted by a Christian militia;
* Israelis filed a case against [[Yasser Arafat]] on grounds of responsibility for terrorist activity;
* In 2003, Iraqi victims of a [[Gulf War|1991 Baghdad bombing]] pressed charges against [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Colin Powell]], and [[Dick Cheney]].

Confronted with this sharp increase in cases, Belgium established the condition that the accused person must be Belgian or present in Belgium. An arrest warrant issued in 2000 under this law, against the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] [[Abdoulaye Yerodia Ndombasi]], was challenged before the [[International Court of Justice]] in the case entitled ''[[Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Belgium)|ICJ Arrest Warrant Case]]''. The ICJ's decision issued on 14 February 2002 found that it did not have jurisdiction to consider the question of universal jurisdiction, instead deciding the question on the basis of immunity of high-ranking state officials.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061002112703/http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/iCOBE/icobejudgment/icobe_ijudgment_20020214.PDF ICJ's decision] See paragraph 43</ref> However, the matter was addressed in separate and dissenting opinions,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/iCOBE/iCOBEframe.htm| title = separate and dissenting opinions| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070313044438/http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/iCOBE/iCOBEframe.htm| archive-date = 13 March 2007}}</ref> such as that of President Guillaume who concluded that universal jurisdiction exists only in relation to piracy;<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/121/8128.pdf separate opinion of President Guillaume] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180619/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/121/8128.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }} at paragraph 12</ref> and the dissenting opinion of Judge Oda who recognised piracy, hijacking, terrorism and genocide as crimes subject to universal jurisdiction.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020312003750/http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/iCOBE/icobejudgment/icobe_ijudgment_20020214_oda.PDF dissenting opinion of Judge Oda], paragraph 12</ref>

On 1 August 2003, Belgium repealed the law on universal jurisdiction, and introduced a new law on [[extraterritorial jurisdiction]] similar to or more restrictive than that of most other European countries. However, some cases that had already started continued. These included those concerning the Rwandan genocide, and complaints filed against the Chadian ex-President [[Hissène Habré]] (dubbed the "African [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]]").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/press/2003/08/belgium080103.htm|title=Belgium: Universal Jurisdiction Law Repealed|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|date=1 August 2003}}</ref> In September 2005, Habré was indicted for crimes against humanity, torture, war crimes and other human rights violations by a Belgian court. Arrested in [[Senegal]] following requests from Senegalese courts, he was tried and convicted for war crimes by the Special Tribunal in Senegal in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison.<ref>[http://www.trial-ch.org/fr/trial-watch/profil/db/facts/hissene_habre_87.html Trial Watch : Hissène Habré] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413081352/http://www.trial-ch.org/fr/trial-watch/profil/db/facts/hissene_habre_87.html |date=13 April 2009 }}</ref>

===Canada===
To implement the Rome Statute, Canada passed the [[Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act]]. [[Michael Byers (Canadian author)|Michael Byers]], a [[University of British Columbia]] law professor, has argued that these laws go further than the Rome Statute, providing Canadian courts with jurisdiction over acts pre-dating the ICC and occurring in territories outside of ICC member-states; "as a result, anyone who is present in Canada and alleged to have committed genocide, torture ... anywhere, at any time, can be prosecuted [in Canada]".<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Byers|title=Intent for a Nation|year=2007|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|location=Vancouver|isbn=978-1-55365-250-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/intentfornationw00byer/page/111 111]|author-link=Michael Byers (Canadian author)|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/intentfornationw00byer/page/111}}</ref>

===Finland===
François Bazaramba was sentenced to life imprisonment in Finland in 2010 for participation in the Rwandan genocide of 1994.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10294529 | work=BBC News | title=Finland sentences Rwanda preacher to life for genocide | date=11 June 2010}}</ref>

In 2021 a trial for Gibril Massaquoi, charged with murder, aggravated war crimes and aggravated crimes against humanity in [[Liberia]], started in Finland, with part of the hearings of witnesses to take place in Liberia and [[Sierra Leone]].<ref>[https://www.africanews.com/2021/02/03/liberia-war-crimes-suspect-gibril-massaquoi-s-trial-begins-in-finland/ ''Liberia war crimes suspect Gibril Massaquoi's trial begins in Finland'', Africanews, 03/02/2021].</ref>

In 2023 [[Yan Petrovsky]] was arrested in Finland at the request of the Ukrainian government, who sought to extradite him for war crimes committed during the [[War in Donbas (2014-2022)|war in Donbas]]. The extradition request was rejected due to human rights concerns, but Petrovsky was arrested and charged for the same crimes by the Finnish authorities. In 2025 Petrovsky was sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/yan-petrovsky-prosecutors-in-finland-have-charged-a-russian-militant-with-five-crimes-50462883.html|date=31 October 2024|newspaper=The New Voice of Ukraine|title=Finland charges Russian neo-Nazi commander Petrovsky with five war crimes in Ukraine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-14 |title=Oikeudenkäynnit {{!}} Sotarikoksista syytetylle Tordenille elinkautinen |url=https://www.hs.fi/suomi/art-2000011097927.html |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Helsingin Sanomat |language=fi}}</ref>

===France===
{{see also|Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals#France}}
The article 689 of the ''code de procédure pénale''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCode.do;jsessionid=8D7A735D0F327A8D49651831AD29817E.tpdjo04v_2?idSectionTA=LEGISCTA000006151920&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006071154&dateTexte=20090315 |title=Détail d'un code |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |access-date=18 February 2012}}</ref> states the infractions that can be judged in France when they were committed outside French territory either by French citizens or foreigners. The following infractions may be prosecuted:
* Torture
* Terrorism
* Nuclear smuggling
* Naval piracy
* Airplane hijacking

In February 2019, [[Abdulhamid Chaban]], a former soldier of the [[Syrian Army]], was arrested and indicted for complicity in crimes against humanity during the [[Syrian civil war]], whereas [[Majdi Nema]], a former spokesperson for [[Jaysh al-Islam]], was arrested and indicted for war crimes and torture, respectively. In May 2023, the French [[Court of Cassation (France)|Court of Cassation]] ruled that French universal jurisdiction allows for a trial of said individuals, and that it was not obligatory that "the offences of crime against humanity or war crime be identically described by the laws of the foreign country", in this case Syria.<ref>{{cite news| title=France: Court Ruling Win for Syrian Victims| url= https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/12/france-court-ruling-win-syrian-victims |date=12 May 2023| work=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=French court upholds right to investigate Syrians suspected of war crimes| url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230513-france-s-highest-court-upholds-right-to-investigate-syrians-on-french-soil-suspected-of-war-crimes |date=13 May 2023| work=[[Radio France Internationale|RFI]]}}</ref>

On 15 November 2023, France issued international arrest warrants for Syrian leader [[Bashar al-Assad]] and three other Syrian officials for war crimes perpetrated during the 2013 [[Ghouta chemical attack]] and the 2018 [[Douma chemical attack]].<ref>{{cite news| title=France issues arrest warrant for Syria's President Assad | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/france-issues-arrest-warrants-against-syrias-president-assad-source-2023-11-15/ |date=15 November 2023| work=Reuters}}</ref>

On 21 May 2024, a Paris Criminal Court started a trial ''in absentia'' of [[Ali Mamlouk]], former head of the National Security Bureau, [[Jamil Hassan]], former director of the Air Force intelligence service, and [[Abdel Salam Mahmoud]], former head of investigations for the service, for the deaths of two French-Syrian citizens during the Syrian civil war.<ref>{{cite news| title=Senior Syrian officials on trial in France for war crimes| url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20240521-senior-syrian-officials-on-trial-in-france-for-war-crimes| date=1 May 2024| work=[[Radio France Internationale|RFI]]}}</ref>

===Germany===
{{Main|Völkerstrafgesetzbuch}}
{{see also|Nikola Jorgić|Ignace Murwanashyaka|Anwar Raslan}}
Under the German legal system, international crimes are offenses that require public prosecution ({{lang|de|Offizialdelikte}}) and are not dependent on the victims' individual criminal complaints to initiate the prosecution.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Beck |last2=Ritscher |first2=Christian |title=Do Criminal Complaints Make Sense in (German) International Criminal Law?: A Prosecutor's Perspective |journal=Journal of International Criminal Justice |date=2015 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=229–35 |doi=10.1093/jicj/mqv010 }}</ref>

[[Nikola Jorgić]] on 26 September 1997 was convicted of genocide in Germany and sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment for his involvement in the [[Bosnian genocide]]. His appeal following his conviction was rejected by the German [[Federal Court of Justice]], Germany's highest court of appeal for criminal matters, on 30 April 1999. The court stated that genocide is a crime which all nations must prosecute.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/27/world/german-court-sentences-serb-to-life-for-genocide-in-bosnia.html|title=Nikola Jorgić profile at|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=27 September 1997|access-date=5 August 2015}}</ref>

Since then Germany has implemented the principle of universal jurisdiction for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes into its criminal law through the {{lang|de|'''Völkerstrafgesetzbuch'''}} or '''''VStGB''''' ("international criminal code", literally "book of the criminal law of peoples"), which implemented the treaty creating the [[International Criminal Court]] into domestic law. The law was passed in 2002 and up to 2014. It has been used once, in the trial of [[Rwanda]]n rebel leader [[Ignace Murwanashyaka]]. In 2015 he was found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison.<ref>{{Cite news| url=http://armedgroups-internationallaw.org/2015/09/28/conviction-of-fdlr-leaders-by-german-court/ | title=Conviction of FDLR leaders by German Court | work= Armed Groups and International Law | date=28 September 2015 | access-date=2015-10-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/05/us-tells-armed-group-drc-surrender-military-option|title = US tells armed group in DRC to surrender or face 'military option'|date = 5 August 2014|access-date = 19 November 2014|newspaper = The Guardian}}</ref> Furthermore, section 7(2) of German Criminal Code {{lang|de|Strafgesetzbuch}} (stGB) establishes the principle of {{lang|la|aut dedere aut judicare}}, stating that German criminal law applies to offenses committed abroad by foreign nationals who currently reside in Germany if there is no criminal law jurisdiction in the foreign country or when no extradition request was made.<ref>German Criminal Code ''Strafgesetzbuch'' (StGB), in the version published on 13 November 1998 (''Federal Law Gazette I'', p. 3322), as last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 19 June 2019 (''Federal Law Gazette I'', p. 844.)</ref>

===Ireland===
{{main|Extraterritorial jurisdiction in Irish law}}

===Israel===

{{Main|Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law}}
The [[Moral philosophy|moral philosopher]] [[Peter Singer]], along with Kenneth Roth,<ref name=KR-2001/> has cited Israel's prosecution of [[Adolf Eichmann]] in 1961 as an assertion of universal jurisdiction. He claims that while Israel did invoke a statute specific to [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] crimes against Jews, its [[Supreme Court of Israel|Supreme Court]] claimed universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singer |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Singer |title=One World |year=2002 |publisher=Yale University Press |page=114 |isbn=0-300-09686-0}}</ref>

Eichmann's defense lawyer argued that Israel did not have jurisdiction on account of Israel not having come into existence until 1948. The Genocide Convention also did not come into effect until 1951, and the Genocide Convention does not automatically provide for universal jurisdiction. It is also argued that Israeli agents obtained Eichmann illegally, violating international law when they seized and kidnapped Eichmann, and brought him to Israel to stand trial. The Argentinian government settled the dispute diplomatically with Israel.<ref name = EichmannTrial>{{cite court |litigants=Attorney General of Israel v. Eichmann |vol=Criminal Case 40/61 |reporter= |court=District Court of Jerusalem |year=1961 |url=http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919100122/http://nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/ |url-status=dead }} {{citation |title=Transcripts |access-date=6 February 2013 |url=http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001235018/http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/ |archive-date=1 October 2006 }}</ref>

Israel argued universal jurisdiction based on the "universal character of the crimes in question" and that the crimes committed by Eichmann were not only in violation of Israel law, but were considered "grave offenses against the law of nations itself".<ref name = EichmannTrial/> It also asserted that the crime of genocide is covered under international customary law. As a supplemental form of jurisdiction, a further argument is made on the basis of protective jurisdiction. Protective jurisdiction is a principle that "provides that states may exercise jurisdiction over aliens who have committed an act abroad which is deemed prejudicial to the security of the particular state concerned".<ref name = EichmannTrial/>

===Malaysia===
In November 2011, the [[Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission]] (KLWCC), created in 2007 by former Malaysian prime minister [[Mahathir Mohamad]] as a private institution (without the support of any government),<ref name="BRussellsTrib_MahathirsWarCrimesTribunal">{{cite Q|Q117832759|url-status=dead}}</ref> exercised what it viewed as universal jurisdiction to [[Trial in absentia|try and convict ''in absentia'']] former US President [[George W. Bush]] and former British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] for the invasion of Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501712_162-57324770/symbolic-war-crimes-tribunal-to-try-bush-blair/ |title=Symbolic 'war crimes' tribunal to try Bush, Blair |date=15 November 2011 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=16 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101115154/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501712_162-57324770/symbolic-war-crimes-tribunal-to-try-bush-blair |archive-date=1 January 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Bush+Blair+guilty+Malaysia+crimes+trial/5748925/story.html |title=Bush, Blair guilty in Malaysia 'war crimes trial'|work=Ottawa Citizen |date=22 November 2011 |access-date=24 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113051951/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Bush+Blair+guilty+Malaysia+crimes+trial/5748925/story.html#ixzz1eaKHipRQ|archive-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> In May 2012, the tribunal again under what it saw as universal jurisdiction took testimony from victims of torture at [[Abu Ghraib prison|Abu Ghraib]] and [[Guantanamo]], and convicted ''in absentia'' former President Bush, former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], former Defense Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]], former Deputy Assistant Attorneys General [[John Yoo]] and [[Jay Bybee]], former Attorney General [[Alberto Gonzales]], and former counselors [[David Addington]] and [[William Haynes II]] for conspiracy to commit war crimes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/international/are-george-w-bush-and-dick-cheney-war-criminals-malaysian-court-says-yes |title=Are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney war criminals? Malaysian court says 'yes' |author=Holt, Bob |date=15 May 2012 |publisher=NewJerseyNewsroom.com |access-date=16 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518234850/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/international/are-george-w-bush-and-dick-cheney-war-criminals-malaysian-court-says-yes |archive-date=18 May 2012}}</ref> The tribunal referred its findings to the chief prosecutor at the [[International Criminal Court]] in The Hague.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/05/12/bush-convicted-of-war-crimes-in-absentia/|title=Bush Convicted of War Crimes in Absentia|author=Ridley, Yvonne|date=12 May 2011 |work=Foreign Policy Journal |access-date=16 May 2012}}</ref>

The Malaysian human rights group [[Suara Rakyat Malaysia|SUARAM]] expressed concern about the KLWCC's procedures, and former [[United Nations]] Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, [[Param Cumaraswamy]], described the KLWCC as having no legal basis, and was sceptical about fair trials taking place ''in absentia''.<ref name="BRussellsTrib_MahathirsWarCrimesTribunal" />

===Netherlands===
In January 2024, Mustafa A., a member of [[Liwa al-Quds]], was convicted in the [[Netherlands]] for [[war crimes in the Syrian civil war|war crimes]] and crimes against humanity carried out during the [[Syrian civil war]] while fighting on the side of Syrian government forces. He was sentenced to twelve years of imprisonment.<ref name="AJE_Dutch_court_convicts">{{cite Q|Q124343850|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Senegal===
A case against the former dictator of Chad, [[Hissène Habré]], started in 2015 in [[Senegal]].<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/ex-dictator-of-chad-denies-legitimacy-of-torture-crimes-trial-in-senegal/article25599568/ theglobeandmail.com: "Ex-dictator of Chad denies legitimacy of torture crimes trial in Senegal"], 20 July 2015</ref>

===Spain===
Spanish law recognizes the principle of universal jurisdiction. Article 23.4 of the Judicial Power Organization Act (LOPJ), enacted on 1 July 1985, establishes that Spanish courts have jurisdiction over crimes committed by Spaniards or foreign citizens outside Spain when such crimes can be described according to Spanish criminal law as genocide, terrorism, or some other, as well as any other crime that, according to international treaties or conventions, must be prosecuted in Spain. On 25 July 2009, the Spanish Congress passed a law that limits the competence of the [[Audiencia Nacional of Spain|Audiencia Nacional]] under Article 23.4 to cases in which Spaniards are victims, there is a relevant link to Spain, or the alleged perpetrators are in Spain.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spain reins in crusading judges |work=BBC News | date=25 June 2009 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8119920.stm |first=Steve |last=Kingstone}}</ref> The law still has to pass the Senate, the high chamber, but passage is expected because it is supported by both major parties.<ref name="The Associated Press">{{cite news | title=Spanish court ends Israel bombing probe | url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g7nVX6JkK9c3ofnkBpgD_5eFF84AD9950VPO0 | agency=Associated Press | date=30 June 2009}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 1999, [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Rigoberta Menchú]] brought a case against the [[Guatemala]]n military leadership in a Spanish Court. Six officials, among them [[Efraín Ríos Montt]] and [[Óscar Humberto Mejía]], were formally charged on 7 July 2006 to appear in the Spanish National Court after Spain's Constitutional Court ruled in September 2005, the Spanish Constitutional Court declaration that the "principle of universal jurisdiction prevails over the existence of national interests", following the Menchu suit brought against the officials for atrocities committed in the [[Guatemalan Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/spain-judge-charges-ex-generals-in.php|title=Spain judge charges ex-generals in Guatemala genocide case|publisher=Jurist|date=8 July 2006|access-date=3 July 2007|archive-date=6 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306234002/http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/spain-judge-charges-ex-generals-in.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Spanish Supreme Court: Guatemala Genocide Case | publisher=Nizkor Project | date=25 February 2003 | url=http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/guatemala/doc/stsgtm.html}}</ref>

In June 2003, Spanish judge [[Baltasar Garzón]] jailed [[Ricardo Miguel Cavallo]], a former Argentine naval officer, who was extradited from Mexico to Spain pending his trial on charges of genocide and terrorism relating to the years of Argentina's military dictatorship.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20A13FD3F5E0C738FDDAF0894DB404482|title=Spanish Judge Sends Argentine to Prison on Genocide Charge|first=Emma|last=Daly|work=The New York Times|date=30 June 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3085482.stm|title=Profile: Judge Baltasar Garzon|publisher=BBC|date=7 April 2010}}</ref>

On 11 January 2006, the [[Audiencia Nacional|Spanish High Court]] agreed to investigate a case in which seven former Chinese officials, including the former [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of China|Communist Party General Secretary]] [[Jiang Zemin]] and former [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Premier]] [[Li Peng]] were alleged to have participated in a genocide in [[Tibet]]. This investigation follows a Spanish Constitutional Court (26 September 2005) ruling that Spanish courts could try genocide cases even if they did not involve Spanish nationals.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spain to investigate 'genocide' in Tibet|work=The Independent|date=11 January 2006|page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10363286 |title=Spanish court to investigate Tibet massacre case|agency=Reuters|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=12 January 2006}}</ref> China denounced the investigation as an interference in its internal affairs and dismissed the allegations as "sheer fabrication".<ref>{{cite news|first=Alexa|last=Olesen|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article656410.ece|title=China rejects Spain's 'genocide' claim|work=The Independent|date=7 June 2006|location=London|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613125127/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article656410.ece|archive-date=13 June 2006}}</ref> The case was shelved in 2010, because of a law passed in 2009 that restricted High Court investigations to those "involving Spanish victims, suspects who are in Spain, or some other obvious link with Spain".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=26740|title=Spanish court shelves Tibet human rights case against China|publisher=[[phayul.com]]|agency=[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]]|date=26 February 2010|access-date=6 September 2010|location=Madrid|archive-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609185339/http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=26740|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Complaints were lodged against former [[Israeli Defense Forces]] chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) [[Dan Halutz]] and six other senior Israeli political and military officials by pro-Palestinian organizations, who sought to prosecute them in Spain under the principle of universal jurisdiction.<ref name="jpost1">{{cite web|last=Izenberg |first=Dan |url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=173480 |title=Universal jurisdiction victory in Spain but battle goes on |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=19 April 2010 |access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Service |first=Haaretz |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/spanish-war-crimes-probe-against-israeli-officials-to-go-on-1.271096 |title=Spanish war crimes probe against Israeli officials to go on |work=Haaretz |date=20 January 2010 |access-date=20 October 2010}}</ref> On 29 January 2009, [[Fernando Andreu]], a judge of the Audiencia Nacional, opened preliminary investigations into claims that a [[targeted killing]] attack in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] in 2002 warranted the prosecution of Halutz, the former [[Defense Minister of Israel|Israeli defence minister]] [[Binyamin Ben-Eliezer]], the former defence chief-of-staff [[Moshe Ya'alon]], and four others, for [[crime against humanity|crimes against humanity]]. Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] strongly criticized the decision, and Israeli officials refused to provide information requested by the Spanish court.<ref>{{cite news|author=Giles Tremlett in Madrid |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/29/spain-israel-gaza-crimes-humanity |title=Spain investigates claims of Israeli crimes against humanity in Gaza |work=The Guardian |date=29 January 2009 |access-date=18 February 2012 |location=London}}</ref> The attack killed the founder and leader of the military wing of the Islamic militant organisation [[Hamas]], [[Salah Shehade]], who Israel said was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths. The attack also killed 14 others (including his wife and 9 children). It had targeted the building where Shahade hid in Gaza City. It also wounded some 150 Palestinians, according to the complaint (or 50, according to other reports).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31854 |title=Spanish judge to go ahead with Gaza raid probe |publisher=Middle-east-online.com |date=4 May 2009 |access-date=18 February 2012 |archive-date=7 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013231/http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31854 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Yoaz>Yuval Yoaz, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/904552.html "State commission to examine civilian deaths in 2002 Shahade assassination"], ''[[Haaretz]]'', 19 September 2007</ref><ref name="autogenerated7">{{cite news |author=Walter Rodgers |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/04/palestinian.collaborators/index.html |title=Palestinians grapple with collaborators |publisher=CNN |date=4 September 2002 |access-date=19 May 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225153307/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/04/palestinian.collaborators/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="google4">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/righttoexistmora00lozo |url-access=registration |quote=Salah Shehade precision bomb |title=Right to exist: a moral defense of Israel's wars|author= Yaacov Lozowick |publisher=Doubleday|isbn=0-385-50905-7 |year=2003 |access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2002">{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/07/23/hamas.assassination/index.html|author=Pierre Klochendler|title=Israeli general apologizes for civilian deaths|publisher=CNN|date=23 July 2002|access-date=19 May 2010|archive-date=13 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213091908/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/07/23/hamas.assassination/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Israeli chief of operations and prime minister apologized officially, saying they were unaware, due to faulty intelligence, that civilians were in the house.<ref name="autogenerated2002"/><ref name="google5">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C3NcBIl_60C&q=Salah+Shehade+apologized&pg=PA166 |title=Israeli counter-insurgency and the Intifadas: dilemmas of a conventional army|author= Sergio Catignani |publisher=Routledge|isbn= 978-0-203-93069-4 |year=2008 |access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="google6">{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/141530041.html?dids=141530041:141530041&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+25%2C+2002&author=DAVID+RUDGE%2C+News+agencies+contributed+to+this+report.&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Peres+apologizes+for+Shehadeh+hit&pqatl=google |author=David Rudge |title=Peres apologizes for Shehadeh hit |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=25 July 2002 |access-date=20 May 2010 |archive-date=11 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111174909/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/141530041.html?dids=141530041:141530041&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+25%2C+2002&author=DAVID+RUDGE%2C+News+agencies+contributed+to+this+report.&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Peres+apologizes+for+Shehadeh+hit&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="boston1">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/packages/iraq/globe_stories/042003_code.htm|author=David B. Green |title=Rebuilding Iraq; Fighting by the book; The Israeli army instructs its soldiers in a stringent ethical code. Can US forces learn from its example?  |work=Boston Globe|date=20 April 2003 |access-date=20 May 2010}}</ref> The investigation in the case was halted on 30 June 2009 by a decision of a panel of 18 judges of the Audiencia Nacional. The Spanish Court of Appeals rejected the lower court's decision, and on appeal in April 2010 the Supreme Court of Spain upheld the Court of Appeals decision against conducting an official inquiry into the IDF's targeted killing of Shehadeh.<ref name="jpost1"/>

===Sweden===
Universal jurisdiction was used in Sweden for the [[trial of Hamid Nouri]] for involvement in the [[1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners]]. In 2022, Nouri was sentenced to a life in prison.<ref>{{cite web| date=14 July 2022| title=Iran: Conviction of former Iranian official over involvement in 1988 prison massacres landmark step towards justice| url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/iran-conviction-of-former-iranian-official-over-involvement-in-1988-prison-massacres-landmark-step-towards-justice/| work=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| date=19 December 2023| title=Sweden upholds life sentence in Iran prison executions case| url=https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-upholds-life-sentence-in-iran-prison-executions-case/a-67771180| work=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

In April 2024, a Swedish court started a trial of Syrian [[Brigadier general]] [[Mohammed Hamo]] for indiscriminate attacks against civilians in [[Homs]] during the [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web| date=15 April 2024| title=The trial of a former Syrian general over alleged role in war crimes starts in Stockholm| url=https://apnews.com/article/sweden-syria-war-crimes-hamo-general-trial-9a80da6fdb7ecaeb1cfe2122bd7ff8f7| work=[[Associated Press|AP News]]|author=Chisato Tanaka}}</ref>

===Switzerland===
On 18 June 2021, former [[ULIMO]] commander [[Alieu Kosiah]] was sentenced to 20 years in prison for committing [[War crime|war crimes]] in [[Liberia]] during the [[First Liberian Civil War|country's first civil war]].<ref name="Alieu Kosiah: Liberian convicted of war crimes in Swiss court" /> This was the first time that a Liberian national was tried for war crimes in relation to the Liberian Civil Wars, and the first time that the [[Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland|Swiss Federal Criminal Court]] held a war crimes trial.

On 18 April 2023, the Swiss Attorney General declared that [[Ousman Sonko]], a former [[Minister of the Interior (The Gambia)|Interior Minister]] of [[the Gambia]], had been charged with [[crimes against humanity]]. He was accused of "having supported, participated in and failed to prevent 'systematic and generalised attacks' as part of a repressive campaign by security forces against [[Yahya Jammeh|Jammeh]]'s opponents".<ref name="Swiss_charge_exGambian">{{cite Q|Q117832665|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Turkey===
In January 2022, when filing a criminal case in the [[Judicial system of Turkey#Prosecutors|Istanbul Prosecutor's Office]] against Chinese officials for torture, rape, crimes against humanity and [[Persecution of Uyghurs in China|genocide against Uyghurs]], lawyer Gulden Sonmez stated that Turkish legislation recognises universal jurisdiction for these offences.<ref name="AJE_Uighurs_Turkey_file_case" />

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|Augusto Pinochet's arrest and trial}}
An offence is generally only triable in the jurisdiction where the offence took place, unless a specific statute enables the UK to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction. This is the case, ''inter alia'', for:<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Crown Prosecution Service]]|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/jurisdiction/|title=Jurisdiction|access-date=17 August 2011|archive-date=20 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120162515/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/h_to_k/jurisdiction/|url-status=dead}} For a list of particular offences with an extra-territorial reach see Archbold 2-36a-2-83.</ref>
* Torture (s. 134 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]])
* Sexual offences against children (s. 72 of the [[Sexual Offences Act 2003]], formerly [[Sexual Offences Act 1956]])
* Fraud and dishonesty ([[Criminal Justice Act 1993]] Part 1)
* Terrorism (ss. 59, 62–63 of the [[Terrorism Act 2000]])
* Bribery (was s. 109 of the [[Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001]], now s. 12 of the [[Bribery Act 2010]])
* [[Human trafficking]] and sexual exploitation (s. 2 of the [[Modern Slavery Act 2015]], ss. 52–54 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and several earlier acts)

In December 2009, [[Westminster Magistrates' Court]] issued an arrest warrant for [[Tzipi Livni]] in connection with accusations of [[war crime]]s in the Gaza Strip during [[Operation Cast Lead]] (2008–2009).<ref name="tzipi">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/14/tzipi-livni-israel-gaza-arrest |work=The Guardian | location=London | title=British court issued Gaza arrest warrant for former Israeli minister Tzipi Livni | first=Ian | last=Black |first2=Ian |last2=Cobain | date=14 December 2009 | access-date=27 May 2010}}</ref> The warrant was issued on 12 December and revoked on 14 December 2009 after it was revealed that Livni had not entered British territory.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134978.html |first1=Barak |last1=Ravid |title=Foreign Ministry outraged over U.K. arrest warrant against Livni |newspaper=Haaretz |date=14 December 2009 |access-date=14 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091216153623/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134978.html |archive-date= Dec 16, 2009 }}</ref> The warrant was later denounced as "cynical" by the Israeli foreign ministry, while Livni's office said she was "proud of all her decisions in Operation Cast Lead".<ref>{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8413234.stm |work=BBC News | title = Israel condemns attempt in a UK court to arrest Livni|date=15 December 2009 |access-date=15 December 2009}}</ref> Livni herself called the arrest warrant "an abuse of the British legal system".<ref name="UK warrant">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8415123.stm |date=14 December 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 December 2009 |title=Tzipi Livni: UK warrant a legal 'abuse'}}</ref> Similarly a January visit to Britain by a team of [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) was cancelled over concerns that arrest warrants would be sought by pro-Palestinian advocates in connection with allegations of [[war crimes]] under laws of universal jurisdiction.<ref name="tzipi"/>

In January 2013, Nepalese Colonel [[Kumar Lama]] was charged in the UK with torture under universal jurisdiction.<ref name="BBC_Kumar_Lama_charged" /> He was acquitted in September 2016, with the jury finding him not guilty on one count, and failing to reach a verdict on the other.<ref name="EJIL_mistrial_Kumar_Lama" />

===United States===
The [[United States]] has no formal statute to authorize it. In some cases, however, the federal government has exercised [[self-help (law)|self-help]] in the apprehension or killing persons who are suspected of conspiring to commit crimes within the United States from outside of the country or committing crimes against American officials outside of the United States. This has occurred even when the suspect is not a United States person, has never been to the United States, and even when the person has never conspired or assisted in the commission of a crime within the United States, there is a functioning government which could try the person for the crime committed there, and notwithstanding the existence of a proper treaty of extradition between that country and the United States, ignoring the provisions of the treaty and capturing or killing the person directly.

In 1985, the [[Mexico|Mexican]] national [[Humberto Álvarez Machaín|Humberto Alvarez-Machain]] allegedly assisted in the torture and murder of a United States [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA) agent in Mexico. Mexico declined to extradite a Mexican national for the alleged crime committed in Mexico, despite having a treaty of extradition. The United States then hired a private citizen and some Mexican nationals as [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] to kidnap Alvarez-Machain and take him to the United States for trial. The trial court ruled that his arrest was unlawful because it violated the extradition treaty. On appeal, in ''[[United States v. Alvarez-Machain]]'', 504 U.S. 655 (1992), the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] held that, notwithstanding the existence of an extradition treaty with Mexico, it was still legal for the federal government of the United States to exercise self-help by forcibly abducting him on a street in Mexico and bringing him to the United States to stand trial. In Alvarez-Machain's subsequent criminal trial, he was acquitted; he later lost a [[lawsuit]] against the American government on the grounds of wrongful apprehension and imprisonment.<ref>See ''[[Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain]]''</ref>