Browsing by Subject "national courts"

The thesis discusses recent instances of application of the principle of universal criminal jurisdiction in Finland, Germany, Argentina and in several nations to the situation in Ukraine. Despite the lacking international consensus at the United Nations and the prevailing academic dissonance, the quantity and frequency of national adjudication of international crimes have been multiplying. The increasing number of cases in new hotspots have shifted the traditional balance of where international crimes are being tried. The cases will be discussed in light of the present doctrine on universal jurisdiction. An overview will be provided to the doctrinal development and international lawmaking efforts as well as international practice. The national cases will be discussed alongside the relevant national legislation and practice. The cases will show numerous legal challenges such as unforeseeability in the reality of the practice. Some closely connected principles will be also discussed in light with the cases such as judex loci deprehensionis, aut dedere aut judicare and the legality principle. The doctrine and the national judicial practice on the principle of universal jurisdiction seem to be in separate realities. The amount of adjudication in national courts is increasing and many of the fundamental doctrinal questions of definition, scope and application criteria remain undecided. The cases with complex settings of international and non-international conflicts as well as differences in legal cultures create challenging settings for national first instance judiciaries to determine and serve justice.