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Quote by 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.”

Quote by Richard A. Falk

Author

Richard A. Falk

Richard A. Falk is a renowned international law scholar, born on November 13, 1930. He has extensive research and teaching experience in the fields of international law and international relations. more

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“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.”

“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.”

Kind States Law Used Sides Effort Leader Achieve Universal Motivated Behaviour Sovereign Constructive Credible Discredit Jurisdiction

Author:Richard A. Falk

“It should be appreciated that this whole effort to hold leaders of states criminally responsible is a rather radical challenge to territorial sovereignty and a repudiation of the whole related ethos of 'sovereign immunity'.”

Should States Whole Challenges Effort Leader Responsible Radical Related Sovereign Sovereignty Appreciated Ethos Immunity Territorial

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.”

Thinking Situation Balance Universal Pressure Impact Consistent Affected Application Desirable Civil Society Jurisdiction Deterrent

Author:Richard A. Falk

“I think if there is to be a crime of 'political genocide' it needs to be formulated with great care and precision to avoid unpopular views from being criminalised.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Care Political Views Crime Genocide Precision

Author:Richard A. Falk

“As matters now stand, the combination of genocide, as conventionally understood, and crimes against humanity, seems sufficient to cover the criminality of political leaders, and the lethal consequences of totalising ideologies.”

Matter Seems Political Humanity Leader Crime Understood Consequence Ideology Combination Sufficient Genocide Political Leaders Criminality Crimes Against Humanity

Author:Richard A. Falk

“With Islamophobic tendencies in Europe and North America it is quite possible that Islamic leaders could be charged with 'political genocide'. An extremist American pastor in a small Florida church held a trial that convicted the Koran of encouraging the murder of non-Muslims and of being responsible for the 9/11 attacks. It is this sort of outlook that would be encouraged to claim that Islam embodied 'political genocide', a development that would have many negative effects on inter-civilisational relations within and among countries.”

“It may be that there is so much ambiguity and ideology attached to the term 'terrorism' that it is best to avoid its use altogether, as it is likely to be twisted in public discourse to demonise the enemies of the established order, while exempting state violence from legal and moral scrutiny.”

May States Use Order Term Moral Enemy Violence Terrorism Ideology Discourse Twisted Ambiguity Scrutiny Public Discourse

Author:Richard A. Falk

“It was a step forward to charge Pinochet with terrorism, and to acknowledge that the essence of the crime is the use of political violence to induce great fear in society and against those who are innocent, and not just such violence that is directed against the state by opposition groups.”

States Use Political Steps Violence Groups Crime Essence Terrorism Innocent Acknowledge Opposition Steps Forward Political Violence Pinochet

Author:Richard A. Falk

“And when the pressure was on us, the team handled it very well. One has to learn to play well under pressure.”

Wells Play Sports Team Pressure Under Pressure

Author:Imran Khan