Universal jurisdiction
Trying people wherever they are, whatever their nationality
Universal jurisdiction enables national judicial systems to try individuals, regardless of their nationality or the place where the crimes were committed. This justice approach deals with international crimes committed a long time ago, as during the civil wars in Liberia, or when no other jurisdiction, international or national, is able or willing to try them,, as in the case of Syria. As with the trials of Rwandans in several European countries (for genocide), the trial of Gambian Ousman Sonko (accused of crimes against humanity in Switzerland) or of Chadian Hissein Habré, tried and convicted in Senegal (for crimes committed in Chad in the 1980s). Discover universal jurisdiction through the news documented by our experts.
Pierre Basabosé is "mentally absent” but will be tried
Former Rwandan soldier and businessman Pierre Basabosé is less well known than Félicien Kabuga, whose trial was definitively stopped by a UN court on August 7 because he has Alzheimer’s. Basabosé, 76, also has senile dementia, but a Belgian court has decided – against the advice of the public prosecutor's office – to maintain his […]
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