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Reports confirm Spain considering limits on universal jurisdiction

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Spain is considering legislation to limit the the scope of universal jurisdiction  applied by the country's National Court, according to Spanish media reports  Sunday. If adopted, the Reform of the Judiciary Act would limit the court's jurisdiction over war crimes and genocide charges to those cases that have a substantial link to the country or its citizens. It would require that the suspects be arrested in Spain, and that the crimes be committed against Spaniards or have some historical link to the country. The reports seem to confirm earlier statements by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni that Spain was considering the changes following a decision by Spanish judge Fernando Andreu to issue an order opening an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in a 2002 Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip. The investigation concerns the 2002 bombing of former Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh's home in Gaza City that killed 15 people, including Shehadeh and his family. Israel has heavily criticized Article 23.4 of the Judicial Power Organization Act, which allows Spanish courts to prosecute people outside of Spain for war crimes, even when no Spanish citizens are involved. Spanish courts have attempted to use the principle of universal jurisdiction in several other international cases, including allegations of war crimes and genocide in Rwanda, Tibet, Guatemala, and China. In 1998, the National Court of Spain invoked universal jurisdiction to issue an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 01, 2009 (boomark / email).