GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION AT VOTE
On Universal Jurisdiction
A resolution to improve world security by boosting police and military budgets.
Category: International Security
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: (http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/railana__709026t2.png) Railana (http://www.nationstates.net/nation=railana)
Description: Recognizing the moral depravity of war crimes and crimes against humanity,
Believing that such crimes are so heinous that the international community bears a collective responsibility to bring those who are guilty of such crimes to justice,
Concerned, however, about the potential lack of accountability and abuses of power associated with granting criminal jurisdiction to an international court,
Convinced, therefore, that the best means to fulfill this responsibility is to grant individual World Assembly member states the right and obligation to prosecute such individuals,
The General Assembly,
- Defines "universal jurisdiction" as the right to claim criminal jurisdiction for a crime allegedly committed by an individual, regardless of where or when the crime was allegedly committed, or the citizenship, nationality, or country of residence of that individual;
- Declares that all World Assembly member states have the right to claim universal jurisdiction with respect to any act that constitutes a "crime against humanity" or a "war crime" under World Assembly legislation, or for which universal jurisdiction is implicitly or explicitly recognized under World Assembly legislation;
- Requires member states to safely and fairly prosecute individuals suspected of committing an act listed in section 2 in cases where:
- the individual is within the territorial jurisdiction of that member state,
- the individual has not already been given a fair trial for that crime by another state, and
- there is evidence which would lead a reasonably intelligent but cautious person to believe that the individual is guilty of that crime;
- Directs member states to ensure that the severity of the sentence assigned to an individual following a conviction of a crime listed in section 2 of this resolution is consistent with the severity of their crime;
- Strongly encourages member states to volunteer any evidence relevant to the prosecution of an individual for a crime listed in section 2 of this resolution;
- Permits member states to transfer an individual subject to prosecution under section 3 of this resolution to the jurisdiction of another member state that is able and willing to safely and fairly prosecute that individual for the same alleged crime or crimes;
- Forbids the World Assembly from preempting a member state's claim to universal jurisdiction under this resolution, including but not limited to through an international criminal court or a substantially similar institution, to the extent permitted by this and previous World Assembly resolutions;
- Clarifies that nothing in this resolution grants member states the right to claim universal jurisdiction over individuals that are not currently within the member state's territorial jurisdiction;
- Further clarifies that nothing in this resolution precludes the World Assembly from passing further legislation on criminal jurisdiction, international police or judicial cooperation, or extradition.
Don't forget to cast your own vote (http://www.nationstates.net/page=ga) on "War Crimes Tribunal"![/list]