'Universal justice' reform means crimes against Spanish residents abroad may not be handled by Spain's courts

A CHANGE to the law of 'universal justice' means crimes committed outside of Spain against Spanish nationals or residents will not be tried by the national legal system – a move that will affect cases such as the murder of Spanish TV cameraman José Couso in Iraq.

People from Spain who fall victim to crime abroad will now only have the national laws of the country where this occurred to protect them and, in some cases, these may not be compatible with those of a western nation. 

And hundreds of cases currently being handled in Spanish courts will now be closed, leaving the victim with no redress in their home country. 

Opposition members rejected the change in justice legislation unanimously, but the PP is a majority government and their vote alone was sufficient to see it go through. 

They say Spain's government is 'bowing down' to the Chinese authorities, who have called for an end to the trials being dealt with in the former country over the repression in Tibet. 

Socialist spokeswoman Soraya Rodríguez has met with the family of José Couso, who are bitterly disappointed and say they feel let down. 

And Rosa Díez of Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) has urged the PP to withdraw the new law 'if not for the good of the people, at least for their electoral interests', pointing out that China's people do not vote in national elections but families of crime victims such as José Couso do. 

Other opposition members said crimes against humanity should be able to be judged 'in any corner of the universe' because they are 'universal crimes'. 

Judges in Spain can only investigate genocide or human bodily harm when the charges are levied against Spanish citizens, or foreigners who live in Spain and will not be extradited.

For Spanish citizens or foreign residents who are victims, rather than authors of these crimes, their home courts will only intervene in certain restricted circumstances. 

Torture and kidnap, only where the victim or the perpetrator are Spanish and the perpetrator remains in Spain can be tried in the country under the principle of Universal Justice, which means Couso's case will be archived because he was in Iraq when he was murdered and the accused parties are USA nationals who do not live in Spain. 

Terrorism, human trafficking and drug-smuggling abroad affecting a Spanish national or a foreigner living in Spain either as a victim or accused party can be tried in Spanish courts, and the PP is considering increasing the definition to include female genital mutilation – currently only tried in Spain where the perpetrator returns to live there after the crime.

The PP government says at the moment, only 'corruption of minors' or child prostitution can be tried in Spain where the victim is resident there, but with the new reform, they will be able to extend this to include any type of sexual abuse against children including so-called 'sex tourism' which the Spanish court has not currently been able to deal with. 

In cases such as that of Couso, the government says that by Spain taking on the case, 'all it does is create false expectations' and lead to 'diplomatic crises', since it is often years before the trials are held and Spain's success rate is low. 

But it is not clear whether cases such as a Norwegian woman who was arrested in Dubai after reporting a rape to the police would be covered by Spain's legal system if, for example, the woman in question had been Spanish, or a foreign resident in Spain. 

And Couso's mother said that if her son had been murdered by the Basque separatist cell ETA, the PP government would have allowed the Spanish courts to bring the killers to justice – yet as it happened in an Iraqi war zone, they have left the family with limited chance of closure, given that they have to pursue the case through the court system in the USA.

The justice reform is expected to come into effect before this summer.