Universal jurisdiction is a powerful tool in the fight against impunity for crimes under international law on the global level. As regards the European Union (EU), the exercise of universal jurisdiction by the domestic courts of Member States ensures that the EU territory does not become a safe haven for non-EU nationals who perpetrated abominable crimes in third countries and subsequently fled to Europe. Nevertheless, universal jurisdiction is still grossly underused to ensure accountability for international crimes in the EU Member States.

UNIJUR has the following objectives:

  1. to identify obstacles and constraints to the exercise of universal jurisdiction over international crimes in the EU Member States’ legal systems;
  2. to provide a critical assessment of the EU mechanisms supporting national authorities in their exercise of universal jurisdiction;
  3. to develop a comprehensive set of proposals to:
    a. facilitate and improve the exercise of universal jurisdiction in the EU Member States;
    b. increase EU support to domestic authorities exercising universal jurisdiction.