CYIL 2014

COMPARATIVE LAW STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL LEGISLATION… Arturo J. Carrillo and Annalise K. Nelson Comparative Law Study and Analysis of National Legislation relating to Crimes Against Humanity and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction 1 [Srovnávací právní studie a analýza vnitrostátních právních předpisů týkajících se zločinů proti lidskosti a extrateritoriální jurisdikce] The title of this article provides for the name of the analysis written by A. J. Carrillo and A.K. Nelson of the International Human Rights Clinic of the George Washington University Law School. I have had the opportunity to read this analysis (hereinafter referred to as “analysis”) and would like to make few comments on it. The analysis sets a goal of discussing, among other things, issues related to national jurisdiction over crimes against humanity (hereinafter referred to as “CAH”) in various legal systems around the world. Hence the analysis focuses on national legislation, provides for many interesting quantitative results and also discusses the qualities of examples of national legislation related to jurisdiction over CAH. These goals are, without any doubt, interesting. Other aspects are discussed as well, such as universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, and the analysis spent a large amount of space on this; since it is not an instrument that would be uniformly interpreted and accepted, the practice of States regarding this issue presents a useful guide not only for those dealing with such issues in their work and studies. The executive summary at the very beginning of the analysis presents a brief summary of the whole study and provides the reader with some useful data. Such an introduction is both very interesting and helpful, though some of the explanations of chosen criteria may be slightly hard to understand for a reader from a non-English speaking country. However this is not a critique of the analysis; it is rather a self criticism of author of this review. Qualities of the project are precisely presented questions to be answered (they are to be found in the introduction) and successfully elaborated analysis on following pages, among other things. Though not extensive in length (the analysis consists of 30 pages), the analysis is amended with annexes A to M that provide detailed information related to the questions laid down by the text itself. However, a survey of such a scale is obviously not without troubles, such as finding relevant domestic legislation in all discussed States. The authors must have faced these troubles as well, and so it is again an example of the quality of their work that, in confirming their 1 A. J. Carrillo and A. K. Nelson, Comparative Law Study and Analysis of National Legislation relating to Crimes Against Humanity and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction , International Human Rights Clinic, The George Washington University Law School, accessed at http://www.law.gwu.edu/Academics/EL/ clinics/IHRC/Documents/CAH_Final_Web.pdf. George Washington University Law School, 2013

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