In 1993 , Belgium 's Parliament passed a " law of universal jurisdiction " ( sometimes referred to as " Belgium 's genocide law " ) , allowing it to judge people accused of war crimes , crimes against humanity or genocide . In 2001 , four Rwandan citizens were convicted and given sentences from 12 to 20 years ' imprisonment for their involvement in 1994 Rwandan genocide . There was a rapid succession of cases : Confronted with this sharp increase in cases , Belgium established the condition that the accused person must be Belgian or present in Belgium . An arrest warrant issued in 2000 under this law , against the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , was challenged before the International Court of Justice in the case entitled '' ICJ Arrest Warrant Case '' . The ICJ 's decision issued on 14 February 2002 found that it did not have jurisdiction to consider the question of universal jurisdiction , instead deciding the question on the basis of immunity of high-ranking state officials . However , the matter was addressed in separate and dissenting opinions , such as that of President Guillaume who concluded that universal jurisdiction exists only in relation to piracy ; and the dissenting opinion of Judge Oda who recognised piracy , hijacking , terrorism and genocide as crimes subject to universal jurisdiction
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Universal jurisdiction