FIBGAR Organises in Argentina the Seminar “Universal Jurisdiction: Critical Perspectives from Latin America”
The International Baltasar Garzón Foundation (FIBGAR), with the support of the Instituto Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, is pleased to announce the regional seminar “Universal Jurisdiction: Critical Perspectives from Latin America”, which will take place on 26 March from 9:00 to 14:30 in an online format. The event will bring together jurists, academics and human rights specialists to reflect on the current developments, challenges and debates surrounding universal jurisdiction and its evolution in Latin America.
The event offers a rare opportunity: to translate a complex legal instrument — universal jurisdiction — into a public narrative that is relevant, urgent and accessible. In this context, the seminar seeks not only to create a space for specialised analysis, but also to bring the debate on universal jurisdiction closer to the public.
The programme will be structured around a keynote lecture and three thematic panels, followed by spaces for dialogue among participants. The objective is to promote a critical exchange on the role of universal jurisdiction in the prosecution of international crimes, as well as to reflect on its relevance for processes of memory, truth and justice in the region. In addition, the discussions held during the seminar will serve as the basis for the preparation of a final document compiling the main conclusions and contributions emerging from the meeting.
The panels will feature the participation of prominent figures from the legal and human rights fields, including:
- Baltasar Garzón – Jurist and Honorary President of FIBGAR.
- Raúl Zaffaroni – Jurist and Director of the Founding Academic Board of the Instituto Fray Bartolomé de las Casas.
- Julieta Mira – Jurist specialising in universal jurisdiction, professor and researcher at CONICET.
- Douglas Durán Chavarría – Jurist and Director of the United Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD), Costa Rica.
- Alessia Schiavon – Jurist, Executive Director of FIBGAR.
- Matías Bailone – Jurist and Legal Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of Argentina.
- Gerardo Pisarello – Jurist and Member of Parliament for Barcelona (Spain), son of desaparecidos.
- Victoria Montenegro – Politician and human rights activist, daughter of desaparecidos.
- Pablo Llonto – Jurist, writer and journalist.
- Miguel Ángel Osorio – Jurist and Federal Prosecutor General of the Buenos Aires.
- Ana Oberlin – Assistant Prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of La Plata.
This seminar seeks to consolidate itself as a regional forum for reflection on the potential of universal jurisdiction to combat impunity for the most serious crimes under international law, as well as to strengthen processes of transnational justice in Latin America. Through the exchange among experts, academics and actors from the judicial field, the event aims to contribute to a broader understanding of this legal instrument and of its impact on the protection of human rights.
📌 Participation is free of charge, with prior registration: https://wkf.ms/4rptx5T?Seminario=
To view the full programme, please click here.
