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United States v. Yunis
Universality Principle
Restatement (4th) § 413 Universal Jurisdiction
International law recognizes a state's jurisdiction to prescribe law with respect to certain offenses of universal concern, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, certain acts of terrorism, piracy, the slave trade, and torture, even if no specific connection exists between the state and the persons or conduct being regulated.
The doctrine of universal jurisdiction provides that "a nation may prosecute certain serious offenses even though they have no nexus to its territory or its nationals, and no impact on its territory or its citizens." United States v. Cardales-Luna, 632 F.3d 731, 740 (1st Cir. 2011) (Torruella, J., dissenting). In addition to piracy, the crimes generally recognized as subject to universal jurisdiction are the "slave trade, attacks on or hijacking of aircraft, genocide, war crimes, and perhaps certain acts of terrorism." See Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States § 404. Drug trafficking is not recognized as a universal jurisdiction crime. United States v. Aybar-Ulloa, 987 F.3d 1, 14 (1st Cir. 2021).
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