| PAPER CHASE NEWSBURST |  
|
| Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective. |
|
|
 |
|
 Friday, January 30, 2009 |
Spain may legislate to limit universal jurisdiction: Israel foreign minister
Tere Miller-Sporrer at 12:21 PM ET
[JURIST] Spanish foreign minister Miguel Moratinos [official profile] has said he will push for legislation limiting the country's universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder] policies to prevent the investigation of Israeli officials, according to Friday statements [Ynet report] by Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni [official profile]. The pledge follows a decision by Spanish judge Fernando Andreu [JURIST news archive] to issue an order [PDF text, in Spanish] opening an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed in a 2002 Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip [El Pais report, in Spanish; JURIST report]. Spanish vice-president Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega [official profile, in Spanish; Euroresidents profile] also said Friday, however, that the country's courts are independent of politics, and the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation [official website] has yet to make any official announcement confirming Moratinos' comment. Israel is cooperating with the investigation, and recently turned over documents relating to the 2002 attack [El Pais report].
The investigation concerns the 2002 bombing of former Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh's home in Gaza City that killed 15 people [NYT report], including Shehadeh and his family. Israel has heavily criticized [Haaretz report] Article 23.4 [UN backgrounder] of the Judicial Power Organization Act, which allows Spanish courts to prosecute people outside of Spain for war crimes, even when no Spanish citizens are involved. Spanish courts have attempted to use the principle of universal jurisdiction in several other international cases, including allegations of war crimes and genocide in Rwanda, Tibet, Guatemala, Chile, and China [JURIST reports].
Link |
|
|
print |
subscribe |
 |
latest newscast |
 Facebook page
| For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often... |
|
|
| ABOUT | |
|
|
Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.
|
|
|
