The Emerging Recognition of Universal Civil Jurisdiction

Abstract

This paper traces the emerging recognition of universal civil jurisdiction, which is a doctrine that would permit victims of the most serious violations of international law to bring tort claims for damages in any national jurisdiction, regardless of the location of the conduct or the nationality of the victim or defendant. We examine the rationale for such a doctrine, the existence of state practice in support of and against, and the appropriate limitations that might operate on the exercise of such jurisdiction.

Keywords: jurisdiction, universal jurisdiction, universal civil jurisdiction, universal criminal jurisdiction, universal tort jurisdiction, Alien Tort Statute, Alien Tort Claims Act, Sosa, Ferrini, Bouzari, Jones, exhaustion of local remedies, complementarity, subsidiarity, human rights, jus cogens