“There was a deliberate decision after the failure of the League of Nations to make the next attempt to establish a global political actor sensitive to geopolitical realities. The underlying idea was to provide major states, defined in 1945 by reference to the winners in the Second World War (now an anachronism), with assurance that they could take part in the UN without jeopardising their national interests. In this regard, the UN has succeeded, as none of the big countries has withdrawn, and the Organisation has managed to achieve virtually universal membership of all sovereign states.” WorldIdeasWarCountryStatesBigsRealityPoliticalNextActorsNationsInterestDecisionAchieveMajorsUniversalRegardDefinedWinnerLeagueSensitiveWar Of The WorldsSovereignAssuranceDeliberateOrganisationSecond World WarMembershipNational InterestsGeopoliticalAnachronismLeague Of Nations Author:Richard A. Falk
“The UDHR has become an iconic document over the course of more than six decades, the starting point for discussions of whether or not the rights as set forth are truly universal or slanted to reflect the hegemony of Western values, especially those associated with liberal individualism.” ValuesCoursesRightsSixUniversalWesternStartingDecadesDiscussionIndividualismDocumentsStarting PointIconicHegemonyWestern Values Author:Richard A. Falk
“On the one side, I welcome prosecutions of individuals such as Pinochet, and would welcome the indictment, prosecution, and punishment of Kissinger. On the other side is the geopolitical reality that only those in the global South are likely to experience the impact of Universal Jurisdiction.” RealityIndividualSidesUniversalImpactSouthPunishmentWelcomeProsecutionJurisdictionIndictmentGeopoliticalKissingerPinochet Author:Richard A. Falk
“This issue of expanding the reach of international criminal law by reliance on the use of Universal Jurisdiction by domestic courts needs to be balanced against the injustice of according impunity to those with strong geopolitical backing. It is notable that several western European countries backtracked on UJ after threats of retaliatory moves by the United States and Israel. There is no doubt that the domain of UJ is a geopolitical battleground.” NeedsCountryStatesUseMovingLawStrongUnitedUnited StatesIssuesDoubtUniversalCourtThreatWesternInjusticeInternationalIsraelCriminalsNo DoubtBalancedExpandingDomainRelianceNotableImpunityEuropean CountriesJurisdictionCriminal LawBattlegroundGeopolitical Author:Richard A. Falk
“The fact that Universal Jurisdiction exists in relation to serious international crimes does convey two important aspects of the global reality: first, that such individuals would be held accountable if international law was applied without regard to geopolitics, and second, that there is enough ambiguity about the reach of UJ that it inhibits such individuals and conveys an impression of de facto criminality.” IfsFirstsDoeTwoImportantEnoughFactsRealityWould BeLawIndividualCrimeSeriousAspectUniversalRelationRegardInternationalImpressionAmbiguityGeopoliticsInternational LawCriminalityJurisdiction Author:Richard A. Falk
“The weaknesses and biases of the international mechanisms of accountability make it seem desirable to extend the domain of accountability by empowering domestic courts to act as agents of the world legal system. Even if there is no consistent application of Universal Jurisdiction, it still leads those who might be prosecuted to alter their travel plans to avoid even the complication of waiting for a complaint to be dismissed.” IfsWorldStillsSeemsMightWaitingPlansWeaknessUniversalCourtInternationalAgentsEmpoweringConsistentAccountabilityApplicationMechanismComplaintsDesirableDomainComplicationLegal SystemJurisdiction Author:Richard A. Falk
“On the cautionary side, Universal Jurisdiction could be used to achieve some kind of ideologically motivated criminalisation of 'the other' that would discredit and derail a constructive effort to develop a credible meta-law that governs the behaviour of leaders of sovereign states.” KindStatesLawUsedSidesEffortLeaderAchieveUniversalMotivatedBehaviourSovereignConstructiveCredibleDiscreditJurisdiction Author:Richard A. Falk
“It is on balance desirable to encourage Universal Jurisdiction, and to create pressure from below to make application of such jurisdiction as consistent as possible. I think this will act as a deterrent in some situations, although this impact will never be acknowledged by those affected as it would only embolden civil society to intensify its pressures.” ThinkingSituationBalanceUniversalPressureImpactConsistentAffectedApplicationDesirableCivil SocietyJurisdictionDeterrent Author:Richard A. Falk
