C’è un giudice a Coblenza … per i crimini internazionali di Assad Prime note alla sentenza dell’Oberlandesgericht Koblenz in applicazione del principio di giurisdizione penale universale

There is a judge in Koblenz for the international criminals of the Assad regime. First comment on the Oberlandesgericht Koblenz’s judgement in application of universal criminal jurisdiction

Abstract

The Oberlandesgericht Koblenz’s judgement breaks loudly into the public debate over the criminal international law. The historic ruling of a German court in a trial about state-sponsored torture in Syria is based on the principle of universal jurisdiction and sees Syrian intelligence officer Anwar Raslan sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity in Damascus. Starting from a deep context analysis, this paper focuses on legal framework, international and German, providing for individual responsibility for international crimes and, therefore, for a principle of universal jurisdiction. The results of that analysis will be use to develop some brief conclusive reflections about the efficiency of the international criminal justice system respect in relation to the Syrian conflict and generally to the development of the principle of universal jurisdiction.