Assembly/AU/11 (XIII) Annex II Page 5   I. I.1 UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Definition and content 8. Universal criminal jurisdiction is the assertion by one state of its jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed in the territory of another state by nationals of another state against nationals of another state where the crime alleged poses no direct threat to the vital interests of the state asserting jurisdiction. In other words, universal jurisdiction amounts to the claim by a state to prosecute crimes in circumstances where none of the traditional links of territoriality, nationality, passive personality or the protective principle4 exists at the time of the commission of the alleged offence. 9. International law, both customary and conventional, regulates states’ assertion of universal criminal jurisdiction. States by and large accept that customary international law permits the exercise of universal jurisdiction over the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, as well as over piracy. In addition, numerous treaties oblige states parties to empower their criminal justice systems to exercise universal jurisdiction over the crimes defined in those treaties, although this obligation extends only to the exercise of such jurisdiction when a suspect is subsequently5 present in the territory of the forum state.6 Treaty crimes of particular significance in the present context include graves breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and of 1977 Additional Protocol I,7 the crime of torture recognised in the Convention against                                                              4 For an explanation of each of these internationally-recognised bases of jurisdiction, see below, section I.2. ‘Subsequently’ here means subsequent to the alleged commission of the offence. 6 Provisions to this effect are found in Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, The Hague, 16 December 1970, 860 UNTS 105, article 4(2); Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civilian Aircraft, Montreal, 23 September 1971, 974 UNTS 177, article 5(2); Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, including Diplomatic Agents, New York, 14 December 1973, 1035 UNTS 167, article 3(2); Convention against the Taking of Hostages, New York, 17 December 1979, 1316 UNTS 205, article 5(2); Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, Vienna, 3 March 1980, 1456 UNTS 124, article 8(2); Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, New York, 10 December 1984, 1465 UNTS 112, article 5(2); Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, Rome, 10 March 1988, 1678 UNTS 221, article 6(4); Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, Rome, 10 March 1988, 1678 UNTS 304, article 3(4); Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, 4 December 1989, New York, UN Treaty Reg. No. 37789, article 9(2); Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, New York, 9 December 1994, 2051 UNTS 363, article 10(4); Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, New York, 15 December 1997, UN Treaty Reg. No. 37517, article 6(4); Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 14 May 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, The Hague, 26 March 1999, UN Treaty Reg. No. 3511, article 16(1)(c); Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, New York, 9 December 1999, UN Treaty Reg. No. 38349, article 7(4); Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, New York, 15 November 2000, UN Treaty Reg. No. 39574, article 15(4); Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, New York, 13 April 2005, UN Treaty Reg. No. 44004, article 9(4); Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, New York, 20 December 2006, UN Doc. A/RES/61/177, Annex, article 9(2) (not in force). 7 Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva, 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 31; Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, Geneva, 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 85; Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, 75 UNTS 135; Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Geneva, 5 Version 31 March 09(FINAL)