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The Serbian War Crimes Act and quasi-universal jurisdiction : reflections on an unprecedented jurisdictional experiment

The purpose of the present article is to analyze the Law (Act) on Organization and Jurisdiction of State Authorities in War Crimes Proceedings (2003) of the Republic of Serbia. The analysis begins with a general description of the contents of the Law (Act), followed by an in-depth analysis of the jurisdictional components of the most- controversial provisions of the Law (Act), encompassing the territoriality principle, the theory of universal jurisdiction, and the reality (or protective) principle. After that, the commentary will discuss whether passage of the Law (Act) was necessary for the prosecution of war crimes in Serbia, whether Serbia should be entrusted with enforcing the Law (Act) in light of its track record in the recent conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and how the Law (Act) has been utilized in practice by Serbia to the present day. The authors conclude that, because, in its current form, the Law (Act) lacks any of the traditional safeguards associated with universality, it constitutes a jurisdictional construct unknown in comparative international criminal law, is ripe for political abuse, and constitutes a threat to regional stability and the current European legal order.

universal jurisdiction, quasi-universal jurisdiction, Serbian War Crimes Act

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