CYIL Vol. 4, 2013

UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION: A TOOL AGAINST IMPUNITY or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity. 27 Leaders, organizers and others who participate in the execution of a scheme that might evolve into war crimes are responsible and thus can be held accountable without freeing themselves from the responsibility (see further sub-chapter 2.4 on immunities). 28 An important and well known case worth mentioning here which relied on universal jurisdiction for the prosecution of war crimes is the Eichmann case . Adolph Eichmann, a chief of the Gestapo’s Jewish Section, was prosecuted by the district court of Jerusalem for, among other things, war crimes. The district court concluded that the universality principle allowed Israel to define and punish Eichmann’s crimes under Israeli law by claiming that: “the jurisdiction to try crimes under international law is universal ” 29 [emphasis added]. 2.2.3 Crimes against Humanity Like war crimes, crimes against humanity constitute jus cogens international crime and thus carry the obligation to prosecute or extradite. It allows states to rely on universality for prosecution, punishment, and extradition. However, it is not until recently that the legal prohibition on crimes against humanity has emerged and the precise contours of the crime clarified. 30 Article 6(c) of the London Charter defined crimes against humanity as: …murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or prosecutions on political, racial or religious ground in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the law of the country where perpetrated. Article 5 of the statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) adds imprisonment, torture and rape to the definition of crimes against humanity. A similar form of definition is in Article 3 of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and Article 7 of the statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which adds enforced disappearance and apartheid to the list and specifies that the crimes in question must have been committed as a part of widespread or systematic attack . 31 27 Article 6(b) of the London Charter. 28 Article 6 and 7 of the London Charter. 29 Attorney General of Israel v. Eichmann . International Law Report Vol. 36, 1962, p. 26. 30 Initially the law of crimes against humanity was created to fill certain gaps in the law of war crimes. See Cryer, Robert et al .: op. cit ., p. 230. 31 Many of these acts can constitute both war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, what distinguishes these crimes is the fact that war crimes do need to take place during an armed conflict.