territory of the State where the facts occurred. This is because such “inhuman acts, owing to
their magnitude and gravity, exceed the limits of what is considered tolerable by the
international community, which must necessarily demand that they be punished. Crimes
against humanity also transcend the individual, because when the individual is attacked, all
humanity is attacked and rejected.” 325
296. In 1927, the Permanent Court of International Justice indicated that though “the
principle of the territorial character of criminal law is fundamental, it is equally true that all or
nearly all these systems of law extend their action to offences committed outside the territory
of the State which adopts them, and they do so in ways which vary from State to State. The
territoriality of criminal law, therefore, is not an absolute principle of international law and by
no means coincides with territorial sovereignty.” 326 Therefore, in cases of international crimes
(such as crimes against humanity) a presumption exists in favor of the extraterritorial criminal
jurisdiction, and it would be for the State to prove the existence of the rule prohibiting this.
In addition, the sixth paragraph of the Preamble to the Rome Statute recalls “that it is the
duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international
crimes.” 327 According to the International Law Commission, “any State may exercise its
jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against humanity. States must ensure the effective
prosecution of crimes against humanity by taking measures at the national level and
facilitating international cooperation. That cooperation is also applicable as regards extradition
and reciprocal legal assistance.” 328 Meanwhile, the Inter-American Court has indicated that,
“in contexts of systematic human rights violations, the need to eradicate impunity reveals
itself to the international community as a duty of cooperation among States to this end.” 329
297. The concept of universal jurisdiction has been developed in recent decades and has
been recognized by diverse States, especially following the adoption of the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court. It may be said that, at the present time: (a) the universal
jurisdiction is an accepted customary norm, so that it does not have to be established in an
international treaty; 330 (b) it may be exercised with regard to the international crimes
Federal Criminal Oral Court (La Plata). September 26, 2006, Case of “Circuito Camps” et al., case No. 2251/06,
considerandum IV.a.
325
Permanent International Court of Justice. Judgment of September 7, 1927, Matter of S.S. Lotus (France c. Turkey),
Series A, No. 10 (1927), para. 50.
326
327
Statute of the International Criminal Court, Preamble.
UN. Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its forty-eighth session (6 May-26 July, 1996).
A/51/10. pp. 28-29 and 31-32. Commentary 6 on article 8, and commentaries on article 9 of the Draft code of crimes
against the peace and security of mankind.
328
329
Cf. Case of La Cantuta v. Peru. Merits, reparations and costs, para. 160. Similarly, see: Case of Anzualdo Castro
v. Peru, Judgment of September 22, 2009, Series C No. 202, para. 125, and Case of Goiburú et al. v. Paraguay, para.
131.
See, inter alia, United Nations. The Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisiction, A/56/677, December 4, 2001,
Principle 3, Available at: https://undocs.org/en/A/56/677, and Institute of International Law. Universal criminal
jurisdiction with regard to the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Resolution of the
Seventeenth Commission at the Krakow Session, 2005, Available at http://www.idi-iil.org/app/uploads/2017/06/
2005_kra_03_en.pdf. Similarly, the principle of aut dedere aut judicare refers to the alternative obligation contained
in some multilaterial treaties to extradite or to prosecute, and its purpose is to guarantee international cooperation
in the case of certain criminal conducts. This principle is a way in which States are obliged to exercise their jurisdiction
to try certain conducts considered crimes under international law if they refuse to extradite those presumably
responsible to the State requesting them. Clearly, it does not matter if the crimes have not been committed in the
territory of the State that has refused the extradition and that, by virtue of this principle, has the obligation to
prosecute them. That obligation is contained in several international conventions on human rights and international
humanitarian law (Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (art.
7); International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (arts. 9 and 11); InterAmerican Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (art. 12); Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance
of Persons (art. IV); Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary
Executions (Principle 18); Articles 49, 50, 129 and 146, respectively of the four Geneva Conventions adopted on
330
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