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Abstract

This article explores the legal thought that influenced the 1961 Eichmann case. It argues that the Israeli Courts challenged the prevailing at the time notion that States wishing to prosecute war criminals must first extend an offer of extradition to their own State; and that, by declining to extradite and establishing a firm foundation for trying Eichmann in Israel, they created a robust precedent for domestic courts to exercise universal jurisdiction for serious violations of international (both customary and conventional) law—today recognised as international criminal law. To this end, it examines the contextual background of the case, the implications it engendered, and the legal reasoning employed to secure Eichmann’s conviction. It thus provides a thorough examination of a case that conferred contemporary domestic courts with the authority to prosecute and sentence foreign officials accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes solely based on their universal condemnation by the international community—without any further connection to these crimes.

Publication Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Additional Information:	Copyright 2023, the author.
Publisher Keywords:	Eichmann case, Universal Jurisdiction, Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity.
Subjects:	J Political Science > JX International law
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes The City Law School > CLS Working Paper Series

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