Universal jurisdiction is often hailed as a last resort for justice, yet victims and witnesses face severe risks when speaking out. Drawing on cases from Liberia, this article examines threats, protection gaps, and the urgent need for stronger, victim-centred safeguards beyond convictions.
U.S. sanctions against its judges and prosecutors, contempt for its authority: attacks against the International Criminal Court continue relentlessly. National courts, however, have picked up the mantle in prosecuting international crimes and this movement has now become the true flagship of international criminal justice.
Switzerland, despite its historic role in advancing global anti-torture conventions, still lacks a national law criminalizing torture. Director of Civitas Maxima and laywer Alain Werner urges Parliament to correct this gap, aligning Swiss law with international standards to ensure accountability, justice, and protection for all.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis’s suggestion to grant Vladimir Putin immunity for peace talks undermines international justice. Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima, warns that such a move, though legally possible, would violate Switzerland’s obligations to the ICC and weaken its credibility as a defender of international law.
Israeli journalists, academics, and rights groups are documenting atrocities in Gaza, exposing mass civilian deaths, deliberate attacks, and use of human shields. Their evidence, corroborated internationally, forms a crucial record against impunity—ensuring these crimes cannot be erased, even amid political pressure to silence accountability.
As war today seems to be the only agenda for some major powers, including a war against justice itself, all those who still uphold the values of international law must unite on the side of all victims, without discrimination, and support any genuine pursuit of justice, writes Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima.
For the first time, a former head of state will appear before the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity committed against his own citizens during peacetime, notes international lawyer Alain Werner, who follows each month what pushes — or fails to push — justice forward.
The world urgently needs a public mobilization around humanitarian law and the necessity of maintaining minimum standards of humanity in war. Switzerland, as the depository state of the Geneva Conventions, should be at the forefront, actively advocating for all victims of violations of international humanitarian law and defending this law with passion.
As International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide, Civitas Maxima would like to pay tribute to women lawyers who dedicate their career to international justice and human rights. Among these women, are the many interns we have welcomed, who have kept the memory of a stimulating experience and supportive workplace.
The new U.S. administration is targeting both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Geneva Conventions, as evidenced by the new Secretary of Defense’s stance on international humanitarian law. It is time to wake up, writes Alain Werner, director of the NGO Civitas Maxima.
