Paper's abstract

David Chilstein, Universal jurisdiction and international criminal justice
Both international criminal tribunals and national courts prosecute serious offences of international humanitarian law. Although they share a common goal, they function differently. The foundation of the former lies in the international community of states whereas universal jurisdiction of national courts is unilateral. One could have thought that the rise of international criminal tribunals would have resulted in a decrease of the use of universal jurisdiction by national courts. But this has not happened. Universal jurisdiction remains and develops in the shadow of international criminal justice. It is doubtful that they are completely functionally equivalent.


Key Words : Universal jurisdiction – international criminal tribunals – International Criminal Court – principle of subsidiarity - princi
t. 53, 2010 : p. 118-129

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