Scholarship Programme for Indigenous and Afro-descendant Students
Education / Human rights
Universal jurisdiction is one of the most important mechanisms in international law for ensuring accountability for the most serious crimes affecting the international community as a whole. By allowing national courts to investigate and try certain international crimes regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of the victims and perpetrators, this principle has established itself as an essential tool for combating impunity when national systems are unable or unwilling to act.
However, despite the progress made in recent decades, the application of universal jurisdiction continues to face significant challenges. Regulatory restrictions, political obstacles, institutional limitations and operational difficulties have progressively reduced the scope for its effective exercise in many countries. Added to this is a limited public understanding of its relevance, which makes it difficult to build the social and political support necessary to ensure its effectiveness as a mechanism for access to justice for victims of international crimes.
In this context, the Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (FIBGAR) is promoting the project “Rethinking universal jurisdiction: contemporary challenges and recommendations to strengthen the fight against impunity”, an initiative aimed at critically reviewing the current application of this legal principle and promoting concrete proposals to reinforce its implementation, effectiveness and legitimacy. The project is being developed as a natural continuation of the work carried out by FIBGAR in the field of international justice and universal jurisdiction, including the work undertaken for over a decade on the Madrid-Buenos Aires Principles on Universal Jurisdiction, a fundamental reference for the promotion and strengthening of this mechanism in various national contexts.
The initiative combines forums for specialised dialogue, academic research and strategic advocacy with the aim of identifying legal, institutional and political obstacles affecting the exercise of universal jurisdiction, strengthening international partnerships among actors committed to the fight against impunity, and generating up-to-date knowledge on the challenges facing this mechanism in different regions of the world.
As part of this process, FIBGAR has organised a series of international seminars and events bringing together representatives from academia, the judiciary, the legal profession, civil society organisations and experts in international justice.
In March 2026, the organisation hosted the event “Gender Justice and Universal Jurisdiction” in New York, held in collaboration with the Guatemalan Women’s Association (AMG) and within the framework of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 70), to reflect on the opportunities this mechanism offers for addressing international crimes from a gender perspective.
Subsequently, also in March 2026, FIBGAR organised the seminar “Universal Jurisdiction: Critical Perspectives from Latin America” in the city of Buenos Aires in collaboration with the Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Institute, with the aim of analysing the specific challenges facing its application in Latin America and strengthening the exchange of experiences among different actors committed to international justice.
Work continued in the Asia-Pacific region in May 2026 with the organisation of the international workshop “Prosecuting Asia-Pacific International Crimes in Domestic Courts” held in Brisbane, Australia, organised in partnership with Griffith Law School, the Griffith Asia Institute and the Asia Justice Coalition. This event provided a valuable opportunity to continue fostering debate on the Madrid–Buenos Aires Principles on Universal Jurisdiction and to advance the incorporation of new regional perspectives.
These meetings provided an opportunity to examine recent experiences in the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, as well as to identify opportunities to strengthen cooperation between actors from different regions of the world.
Furthermore, in September 2026, a new regional meeting will be held in Rome dedicated to analysing the state of universal jurisdiction in the European region and discussing proposals to strengthen it in the face of contemporary challenges.
The debates, reflections and conclusions arising from these forums will be complemented by the drafting and publication of articles, meeting reports, analytical documents, policy briefs and other specialised materials designed to contribute to the academic, legal and political debate on universal jurisdiction. This work will seek not only to generate expert and up-to-date knowledge, but also to promote the recovery and strengthening of this mechanism in contexts where it has experienced significant setbacks or restrictions.
As a final outcome, the project envisages the production of an analysis and recommendations document that will systematise the main findings and contributions generated throughout the initiative. This document will offer concrete operational proposals aimed at legal practitioners, public policy makers, legislators and civil society organisations, with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of universal jurisdiction as a fundamental tool for guaranteeing access to justice, preventing impunity and protecting the rights of victims of international crimes.
Through this initiative, FIBGAR reaffirms its commitment to promoting international justice and defending human rights, fostering spaces for reflection, cooperation and advocacy that enable universal jurisdiction to be adapted to current challenges and strengthen its role as an indispensable instrument in the global fight against impunity.
