公开讲座：李文泽教授 – 2014年1月13日

Abstract:

The principle of universal jurisdiction allows a state to exercise jurisdiction over certain alleged crimes even if they are not committed on its territory and neither the perpetrators nor the victims of the alleged crimes are its nationals. Historically, universal jurisdiction has been applied against piracy. In recent years, it has also been used in relation to a number of international crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity. Arguably, it is also the jurisdiction exercised by international criminal tribunals and courts in some of their cases. Universal jurisdiction is controversial because it seems to be in violation of the sovereignty of states. In this lecture, I argue that universal jurisdiction exercised in relation to some of the international crimes is justifiable not as an exception to, but as part of the overall justification of the sovereignty of states when it comes to their exclusive control over other matters.