International justice is the best way to prevent crimes against humanity

The term "crimes against humanity" appeared after the Second World War. Name and determine responsibility for the events that occurred in the military conflict. The implementation of this concept was intended to punish state agents who sponsored torture or genocide against civilians.

According to the rules established in the Nuremberg Statute, states are obliged to bring international criminals to court. Or, if not, hand them over to the appropriate organizations to be tried. This provision was reinforced in 1948 by the Declaration of Human Rights approved by the UN General Assembly.

The figure of international jurisdiction was invented to carry out such actions. It is formally defined as "a legal principle that allows or requires the state to prosecute certain crimes, regardless of the place of their commission and the citizenship of the criminal and the victim," as explained in the publication: Principles of Universal Jurisdiction and Complementarity of the international journal Review of the Red Cross. This principle of law was enshrined in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

However, the International Criminal Court was established only in 1998. An independent legal entity that can act against crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and aggression.

Trials involving universal jurisdiction cases tend to be slow and complicated. For dynamics different from those established in other court processes. As a rule, they involve various people involved, countless victims and, if that is not enough, political and economic interests that try not to affect the action.

To overcome the limitation of territoriality. International law recognizes that courts may have certain forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction, directly imposing sanctions or liability on a specific person. Similarly, heads of state or government are generally not immune from prosecution. Such an approach is essential to ensure that persons who have committed serious crimes do not escape justice, extradition lawyers provide specialized advice and support to lawyers dealing with international law, including extradition.

Prevention: A great opportunity for international justice

The will, ethics and perseverance of lawyers in different parts of the world allowed human rights violations not to go unpunished.

To achieve this, they had to deal with many setbacks and pressures of all kinds. We must not forget that we are talking about the implementation of the Law against crimes whose perpetrators have the ability to mobilize diplomatic, economic and military resources. This may hinder the legal process.
To counter these evasion mechanisms. International jurisdiction is a necessary alternative to prevent and punish crimes against humanity that are difficult to punish by the state itself.

Each state that signs the treaties created to ensure universal jurisdiction has a responsibility to prevent and punish these international crimes. Impunity for these crimes is a way to keep promoting them. On the contrary, committing to this principle is the easiest way to avoid this kind of crime of great scale and consequences for humanity.

A documentary to remember

The Code took on the responsibility of bringing to the big screen the titanic work of lawyers responsible for the protection of victims of international crimes.

Because of the experience of the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, who ordered the arrest of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The documentary describes the consequences of legal processes carried out by hundreds of lawyers around the world. Determine responsibility and punish those responsible for major economic, environmental, financial, political and military crimes that harm human rights.

The Code, according to its leader Carles Caparros, aims to cooperate in bringing the legal language and its possibilities closer to the majority. "This is a film about heroes, brave lawyers and characters of classic film noir. Our team has been developing this project for three years. I am convinced of the importance of popularizing the work of legal activists," Caparros emphasized.