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ANALYSIS / Spain war crimes probe should not surprise Israel By Ze'ev Segal Tags: spain, Israel News  A Spanish judge's decision to begin investigating the assassination of Salah Shehadeh in 2002 should come as no surprise. Several countries (Britain is another) have assumed the right of universal jurisdiction. The general rule is that a country's laws apply only to that country, but international law does not forbid a country to assert its authority over acts committed outside its borders. And this includes cases of people who, in the view of the country doing the judging, have committed serious crimes, albeit with no connection to that country. Dr. Robbie Sabel, a former legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, published a book in which he wrote that "there is apparently an obligation" to first give the countries involved a chance to try the suspects. Hence the argument is now being made that the Spanish writ was issued because the suspects were not tried in Israel, and the High Court of Justice declined to order a criminal investigation into the incident. Nevertheless, it is hard to believe that any investigative committee, and perhaps even not an indictment, would have prevented the writ from being issued. Incidentally, Israel's penal code also permits it to try people for crimes committed outside its borders, but only in the case of crimes "against the state" or "against the Jewish people." Advertisement Two years ago, the issue of universal jurisdiction came to the fore when a British judge issued a writ against Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog over the destruction of 30 houses in Rafah. In Britain, the Geneva Conventions were adopted as domestic law in 1957, and that is the basis for its assertion of universal jurisdiction. But prior to Almog, the British had never before attempted to exercise this jurisdiction. The case led to talks between Jerusalem and London aimed at ensuring that courts would not issue such writs without consulting Britain's attorney general. However, the talks did not produce any change in British law. Though the government has promised to provide Israel Defense Forces soldiers with legal defense, practically speaking this does nothing to solve the problem. The moment an Israeli soldier whose identity is known finds himself on the soil of a country that claims universal jurisdiction, a writ can be issued that would lead to his arrest and perhaps even his trial. Related articles: Israel fears wave of war crimes lawsuits over Gaza offensive Jurists tell Barak: Don't shell Gaza population centers Bookmark to del.icio.us   Spying for Hezbollah Israeli Arab is suspected of planning to spy on Israel for the terror group. Iran and the bomb There are conflicting reports on whether Tehran has enough material for nukes.   1.   both sides 05:19  |  Aaron 30/01/09   2.   The Americans do exactly the same 12:37  |  London Jew 30/01/09   3.   American sins dont make it better 17:53  |  fritz t. 30/01/09   4.   Of course Haaretz says that. Haaretz agrees with all Isarel-hater 19:07  |  James Spade 30/01/09   5.   To #3 19:16  |  Frank 30/01/09   6.   Spanish political context 19:18  |  Spanish Jew 30/01/09   7.   frank 5 21:49  |  curious 30/01/09   8.   Israel should judge european countries encouraging terrorism 23:47  |  michel 30/01/09   9.   #1 Pointing out the obvious to you, Aaron 03:59  |  Johnboy 02/02/09   10.   Spain war crimes probe of Israel 05:29  |  donna 28/02/09

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