'Sadder but wiser?' NGOs and universal jurisdiction for international crimes

The author focuses on the approach various NGOs have taken regarding the prosecution of international crimes under the universality principle by analysing their reports on the topic. The author detects a paradigm shift: At first NGOs took a rather political and pugnacious attitude, exaggerating states’ obligations to prosecute, underestimating the practical and legal problems of prosecuting and trying perpetrators of international crimes, and using legally flawed rhetoric. Of late, however, the approach has generally become more cautious and realistic. NGOs have acknowledged the complexities of international crime prosecutions and trials and shifted their attention to criminal law problems.