Last week, the United Kingdom amended its universal jurisdiction law via the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act such that the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions is required prior to the issuance of an arrest warrant for "'universal jursidiction' offenses such as war crimes or torture."

Under the UK's universal jurisdiction law, British courts can prosecute foreigners accused of such crimes regardless of where the alleged crimes were committed. The amendment is intended to prevent privately sought arrests and detentions based on frivolous or political grounds "when there is no realistic chance of prosecution." As UK Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould stated in a press release, the amendment will "ensure that the UK’s justice system can no longer be abused for political reasons."

The law attracted controversy for permitting the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Opposition leader Tzipi Livni and threats of arrest warrants for other senior Israeli officials.

Lawfare Project director Brooke Goldstein was invited to brief the UK Parliament twice on universal jurisdiction and its abuse as a form of lawfare. A nexus between the litigation forum and the crime at issue is one of the key elements of due process. Universal jurisdiction operates to facilitate lawfare by denying the accused this fundamental procedural safeguard. It provides the proponents of lawfare a tool to politicize legal processes. The Lawfare Project applauds the UK government for striving to uphold the rule of law.