The Diplomat
Unidas Podemos has presented a parliamentary initiative in the Congress of Deputies urging the Government to promote the urgent approval of a Bill to restore the system of universal jurisdiction and extend the competence of Spanish courts to prosecute crimes committed in other countries.
This non-legislative proposal (PNL), which seeks to modify the Organic Law of the Judiciary (LOPJ), has been presented for debate in the Justice Commission and seeks to “reinforce Universal Justice”, reports Europa Press.
Unidas Podemos recalls that as a result of the changes that the law underwent in 2014, the system of universal jurisdiction that was in force and that had allowed the prosecution and trial by the Spanish courts of the most serious crimes and human rights violations was repealed.
They recall for example the cases of Chile, Argentina and Guatemala, and add that this placed Spain “at the forefront of the prosecution of international crimes and the defence of human rights”.
They add that the principle of universal jurisdiction is that which assigns competence to the authorities of a State for the repression of crimes which, independently of the place of their commission and the nationality of the perpetrators or victims, attack international or supranational legal assets of particular importance.
In this regard, they regret that current legislation limits the jurisdiction of Spanish courts to the point that in the most serious crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes against persons and property in the event of armed conflict) it is required that the person charged with the criminal act be located in Spanish territory, it being irrelevant whether the victims of these acts have Spanish nationality.
And they recall that in 2014 it was also imposed that the cases in process were dismissed until the fulfilment of the requirements established therein were not accredited, which meant that serious cases of crimes against humanity, such as the cases of the Telecinco cameraman José Couso, the CIA flights or Guantánamo, among others, were shelved.
In the PNL Unidas Podemos also recalls that in the government agreement signed with the PSOE, it is established as a measure of democratic regeneration to recover this universal justice. “It is therefore essential to send the message that certain crimes of international importance and their special gravity cannot go unpunished, as they are crimes that go against the most elementary principles and values of the international community”.
The application of the principle of universal justice was repealed at the behest of Mariano Rajoy’s government, which, among other pressures, suffered pressure from the Chinese authorities, until the National Court decided to close the case against several former Chinese leaders for the alleged genocide in Tibet.
