Abandoning universal jurisdiction?
UK has assured Israel it will amend a law that has allowed activists to request arrest warrants for Israeli officials.
William Hague, the British foreign minister, has pledged that the UK will quickly amend a law that has allowed pro-Palestinian activists to request arrest warrants for visiting Israeli officials over alleged war crimes.
Activists in Britain have sought the arrest of Israeli officials in the past under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”, which allows courts to prosecute alleged war crimes from elsewhere in the world.
The reassurance came after Israel suspended ‘special strategic dialogue’ with the UK in protest over the law.
But what message is the UK sending to the rest of the world?
Joining Inside Story to discuss this are: Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the British parliament and a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition; Mark Taylor, an international legal analyst; and Dan Schueftan, the director of national security studies at the University of Haifa.
This episode of Inside Story aired on Thursday, November 4, 2010.