Universal Jurisdiction, Jus Cogens, and Suppression Conventions in the Aftermath of Lockerbie

Abstract

Universal jurisdiction is a principle of international law that maintains the right to try an accused for serious crimes that are globally recognised. The offences are defined in international customary law and include the breach of the jus cogens norms. The liability for breach of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation (‘Montreal Convention’) was invoked in the case of suspects from Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the Lockerbie air disaster. The United Kingdom and the United States made a separate request to the UN Security Council to take certain provisional measures against Libya, calculated to coerce or compel it to surrender the accused individuals to any jurisdiction outside Libya. The judgment led to a miscarriage of justice as the accused were tried under Scottish law and the issue is whether a ‘third alternative’ could be added to the traditional aut dedere aut judicare principle –  aut transferere. The argument here is that in order for the principle to be sustained there should be recognition of the principle of universal jurisdiction and the ambit of the Suppression Conventions should be extended so that a trial can be conducted in the domestic courts of a foreign defendant.