June 2006 Volume 18, No. 5(D) Universal Jurisdiction in Europe The State of the Art I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 II. Challenges and Responses—Making Universal Jurisdiction a Reality............................. 5 A. Notification and Complaint Mechanisms ................................................................ 5 B. Developing Expertise in Prosecuting International Crimes................................ 10 III. Continuing Obstacles to Universal Jurisdiction ..............................................................24 A. Absence of Implementing Legislation.................................................................... 24 B. Amnesties and Immunities ....................................................................................... 25 C. Presence Requirement and the Possibility of Investigation ................................ 28 D. Prosecutorial Discretion............................................................................................ 30 E. Subsidiarity.................................................................................................................. 32 IV. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................34 V. Recommendations .................................................................................................................35 Country Case Studies..................................................................................................................37 VI. Belgium ..................................................................................................................................37 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 38 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Belgium................................................................................................................... 40 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 43 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 44 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 45 VII. Denmark ..............................................................................................................................46 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 46 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Denmark................................................................................................................. 48 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 52 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 53 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 54 VIII. France..................................................................................................................................55 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 56 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in France ..................................................................................................................... 59 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 61 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 61 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 62 IX. Germany ................................................................................................................................63 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 63 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Germany................................................................................................................. 66 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 68 D. Role and Rights of Victims....................................................................................... 69 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 69 X. Netherlands.............................................................................................................................71 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 72 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in the Netherlands..................................................................................................... 73 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 76 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 77 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 78 XI. Norway...................................................................................................................................80 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 81 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Norway................................................................................................................... 82 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 83 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 84 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 84 XII. Spain .....................................................................................................................................86 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 87 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in Spain........................................................................................................................88 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 90 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 91 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ...................................................................................... 92 XIII. United Kingdom (England and Wales) .........................................................................93 A. Jurisdictional Challenges ........................................................................................... 94 B. Practical Arrangements for the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction in the England and Wales ........................................................................................ 95 C. Cooperation ................................................................................................................ 98 D. Role and Rights of Victims and Witnesses ............................................................ 99 E. Fair Investigation and Trial ....................................................................................100 XIV. Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................101 I. Introduction “Universal jurisdiction” is an idea that is as much acclaimed as denounced.1 Much debated as a principle, the legal concept has attracted global attention since the dramatic 1998 arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet on charges of torture. But the Pinochet case itself developed in a significantly changed international legal environment. The last two decades have seen a revolution in forms of accountability for grave human rights violations, with the international community demonstrating a considerable interest in ensuring that certain international crimes are prosecuted.2 Yet despite the creation of ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court (ICC), vast gaps persist in the ability to bring to justice persons accused of the gravest international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. With finite resources, international courts and mixed “internationalized” tribunals can try only a relatively small number of perpetrators, and the courts’ mandates are generally limited to crimes committed in specific territories and conflicts. Even with the advent of a permanent