Universal Jurisdiction and International Power Politics: Ideal Versus Real

Abstract

The main problem of universal jurisdiction lies in the contradiction between the universality of its mission and the particularity of the political interests of the sovereign nation-states which provide the statutory framework for the application of the doctrine. The paper explores the nexus between law and politics in the field of international criminal justice and poses the question as to the institutional and procedural limits to universal jurisdiction, especially as regards the separation of powers as an indispensable element of criminal justice and the rule of law in general. It evaluates, inter alia, the practice of international courts that operate on the basis of ad hoc arrangements (such as the Yugoslavia Tribunal set up by the Security Council) and compares these arrangements to the structure and functioning of the newly established International Criminal Court. The paper further explores the long-term prospects of the Court in the framework of a unipolar world order where the only superpower actively opposes the Court as organ of universal jurisdiction.