Amal Clooney and Rupert Skilbeck on why Britain fails to hold war criminals to account

IN THE YEARUNICC and a half since Russia invaded Ukraine, Britain has repeatedly condemned Vladimir Putin’s illegal act of aggression. It has taken action at the , frozen $23bn in Russian assets, imposed sanctions on 1,550 individuals, referred the conflict to the International Criminal Court () and donated £1m ($1.2m) to support its investigation. But what would the British authorities do if a Russian general who has committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine showed up at London’s Heathrow airport? Would he be arrested and put on trial? The answer, unfortunately, is no.British law recognises a principle known as universal jurisdiction, which permits the courts of any country to hold trials for a handful of offences—such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes—that “shock the conscience of mankind”, no matter where they occur. But legal and practical challenges have meant that only three people have ever been convicted of such crimes in Britain, with the last conviction secured almost 20 years ago.