The long arm of justice: Lessons from specialised war crimes units in France, Germany and the Netherlands (September 2014)

22nd September 2014

The long arm of justice: Lessons from specialised war crimes units in France, Germany and the Netherlands (September 2014)

This 109-page Human Rights Watch report examines the inner workings of war crimes units in the three countries and highlights key lessons learned. Since justice is often elusive where the crimes occurred, national courts in these three states and elsewhere are more frequently applying the longstanding principle of “universal jurisdiction” to prosecute suspects accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, regardless of where the crimes were committed and the victim’s and accused’s nationality.