I International Congress on Universal Jurisdiction

The I International Congress on Universal Jurisdiction, held in Madrid, Spain, from May 20 to 23 2014, brought together 47 speakers from 10 different nationalities, creating a forum for reflection and debate on the limits and obstacles to achieving an effective Universal Jurisdiction at the global level.

For four days, judges, prosecutors, jurists, professors and victims debated about the past, present and future of Universal Jurisdiction in the world. On the last day, a proposal for the discussion of new principles on Universal Jurisdiction was presented.

To achieve the objective of bringing together regional perspectives, FIBGAR organized 6 regional working groups and 6 seminars were held, composed of between 10 and 15 experts representing different geographical areas (Madrid, Puerto Rico, Asuncion, The Hague, Johannesburg and Buenos Aires) reflecting different legal backgrounds and political contexts, with the aim of preparing a workshop to bring together all their comments, proposed amendments and modifications to the principles.

The participants in the Congress were:

• Benjamin B. Ferencz, prosecutor of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials.
• Paulo Abrão, National Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Brazil.
• Ana Pérez Cepeda, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Salamanca.
• Luciano Hazan, member of the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
• Baltasar Garzón Real, judge and president of FIBGAR.
• Soraya Rodríguez, PSOE spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies.
• José Miguel Vivanco, Director of the Americas Division of Human RightsWatch.
• Juan Torres, Professor of Economics at the University of Seville.
• Irene Lozano Domingo, member of the Parliamentary Group of Unión Progreso y Democracia.
• Máximo Langer, Professor at the UCLA School of Law.
• Carlos Poveda Moreno, University Professor of Ecuador.
• Kenneth Mann, Professor of Criminal Law and lawyer.
• José E. Esteve, lawyer in the Tibet case in Spain.
• Reed Brody, legal counsel and spokesperson for Human RightsWatch.
• Fernando Andreu Merelles, magistrate of the Audiencia Nacional in Spain.
• Wolfgang Kaleck, Secretary General of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
• Joan Garcés, lawyer.
• Manuel Ollé Sesé, Professor of International Criminal Law at the Complutense University of Madrid.
• Almudena Bernabéu, lawyer and expert in Human Rights.
• Ariel Dulitzky, member of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
• Raúl Zaffaroni, Justice of the Supreme Court of Argentina.
• Kai Ambos, jurist and expert in Transitional Justice.
• José Ricardo de Prada Solaesa, Spanish magistrate.
• Kirsten Meerschaert, European coordinator of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.
• Helen Duffy, lawyer and expert in Human Rights.
• Hugo Relva, legal advisor to Amnesty International’s International Justice team.
• Michel de Salvia, former Secretary General of the European Court and Jurisconsult of the Court.
• Luis Guillermo Pérez, Secretary General for the Americas of the International Federation for Human Rights.
• Juan E. Méndez, United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment.
• Juan Carlos Henao Pérez, rector of the Universidad Externado and former president of the Constitutional Court of Colombia.
• Fabricio Guariglia, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
• Estela de Carlotto, President of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo.
• Gonzalo Martínez Fresneda, criminal lawyer.
• Paloma Soria Montañés, senior lawyer of Women’s Link Worldwide.
• Carlos Slepoy, attorney for Querella Argentina.
• Diego García-Sayán, judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
• Ramón Sáez, judge of the Audiencia Nacional.
• Frank La Rue, United Nations Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.
• Ana Messuti, lawyer member of the legal team of the Franco case in Argentina.
• Gaspar Llamazares, IU deputy and secretary general of Izquierda Plural.
• Shirin Ebadi, lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

More information HERE

Access to the videos of the Congress HERE