[Handbook launch] A guide on extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction to pursue accountability for international crimes in Ukraine

The scale and gravity of international crimes committed in Ukraine place them within the purview of the international community and underscore the global imperative to act. While Ukraine bears the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes committed on its territory, third States share a broader responsibility to ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law. This acute need for international judicial cooperation leverages universal jurisdiction as a vital tool to fill impunity gaps, bring perpetrators to court, and achieve justice for victims. With this in mind, Global Rights Compliance (GRC) has developed a 'Practitioners’ Handbook on Extraterritorial or Universal Jurisdiction to Pursue Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine’. 

The Practitioners’ Handbook aims to serve as a tool for prosecutors, investigators and civil society organisations engaged in seeking accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine by helping them navigate universal jurisdiction laws and practice, bring cases before relevant domestic authorities and engage in judicial cooperation.

Available in Ukrainian and English and specifically tailored to the Ukrainian context, the handbook is a unique addition to available universal jurisdiction resources. It includes 13 country profiles, spotlighting domestic laws and practices most relevant to the investigation and prosecution of international crimes committed in Ukraine, thus aiming to foster positive complementarity between Ukrainian and foreign judicial authorities.

Join us for a panel discussion and reception to mark the launch of the Practitioners’ Handbook. Panellists will discuss the prospects of fostering a complementary approach to accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine, ongoing and potential universal jurisdiction proceedings, and the anticipated use of the Practitioners’ Handbook. Experts and practitioners representing diplomatic, legal and civil society perspectives will share insights. The panel discussion will be held in a hybrid format (in-person and online) and followed by a reception at the venue.

The Practitioners' Handbook has been developed under GRC's 'Support to Ukrainian National Prosecutors and CSOs in Building Strategic Cases under Universal Jurisdiction' project, supported by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in partnership with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), T.M.C. Asser Instituut, Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC) and Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC).