Universal Jurisdiction in Practice: Law, Politics, and the Limits of Global Accountability

By Lauren R. Gardner

Lauren Gardner graduated from Albany Law School in May 2025, where she was inducted into the Order of the Barristers and served as Vice President of the Immigration Law Society.

During law school, Lauren represented clients in the Immigration Law Clinic and volunteered with the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, gaining experience advocating for individuals who are navigating complex legal and humanitarian challenges. She has been recognized for her advocacy skills as winner of the Donna Jo Morse Client Counseling Competition and finalist at the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition.

Lauren's professional interests focus on public interest law, advocacy, and advancing the rights of vulnerable populations. 

This paper explores the evolving principle of universal jurisdiction and its role in addressing crimes that shock the conscience of humanity. As an exception to state sovereignty, universal jurisdiction empowers national courts to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture, regardless of where such crimes occur or the nationality of those involved. While theoretically a powerful tool for global justice, its practical application has been rare and fraught with political, legal, and logistical obstacles. State sovereignty, diplomatic concerns, cultural relativism, uneven domestic legislation, and the high resource demands of transnational prosecutions limit its effectiveness and contribute to an “accountability gap.” 

Through historical and contemporary case studies—including piracy prosecutions, the Nuremberg Trials, Israel’s prosecution of Adolf Eichmann, Spain’s Guatemalan genocide litigation, and U.S. cases such as United States v. Chuckie Taylor Jr.—the paper evaluates how national courts have attempted to wield universal jurisdiction. These examples illustrate both the potential for justice and the risks of perceived overreach or political misuse.

The analysis also considers international treaties, customary international law, and scholarly debates that question whether universal jurisdiction represents legitimate global enforcement or the imposition of one state’s norms upon another. The paper concludes that universal jurisdiction remains underdeveloped but not untenable.

With clearer international consensus, harmonized definitions of prosecutable crimes, and mechanisms to prevent abuse while respecting sovereignty, the principle could become a more effective instrument against impunity. Strengthening its framework is essential to ensure that perpetrators of mass atrocities are held accountable when their own states fail to act..

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To read the paper, open HERE.

International Law Studies Staff, 2025 - 2026

Director

Vincent M. Bonventre 

Student Editorial Board, 2025 - 2026
Editor-in-Chief

Alexa Reilly is a third-year student at Albany Law School. Prior to attending Albany Law, Alexa graduated Magna Cum Laude from Siena College with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She then went on to serve on Active Duty as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army.

Alexa is a board member of the Albany Law School Veterans’ Pro Bono Project and served as a Teaching Assistant for the Introduction to Lawyering Class. Last year, she completed a field placement with the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services. She has also interned with the New York State Assembly for two semesters and O’Connor, O’Connor, Bresee, & First, P.C., a law firm specializing in litigation and defense.

Executive Editor

Tanner Froats is a third year student at Albany Law School. He graduated from the University at Albany, where he majored in Business Administration.

Tanner is this year's Executive Editor for Research & Business for the Albany Law Review, and is clerking at O'Connell and Aronowitz, P.C. Previously, he was an intern at the Albany County District Attorney's Office.

In his free time, Tanner is the Match Secretary for the law school's Rugby Club.

Executive Editor

Brianna Nagengast-McHale is a third-year student at Albany Law. Prior to attending law school, Brianna graduated Cum Laude from Siena College in 2023, as a participant of the 3+3 Law school program, with a bachelor's degree in psychology and double minor in Criminal Justice and Spanish.

After her first year of law school, Brianna began a summer internship with the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. She remained there for the following year in the Field Placement program. 

With a sole interest in litigation, Brianna branched into civil litigation as a Summer Law Clerk at Conway, Donovan, and Manley, PLLC.

In her free time, Brianna enjoys bartending at a local golf course and trying new coffee shops.

Executive Editor

Sophie Nye is a second-year law student at Albany Law School.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston University in Political Science with a minor in Journalism. While at Boston University she studied abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, where she studied global governance, economic development, and human rights.

During her 1L summer, Sophie worked as a Legal Fellow at the Offices of the New York State Inspector General. She looks forward to continuing to develop her legal skills as a Summer Associate at Barclay Damon next summer.

Sophie is currently serving as Executive Vice President of the Student Bar Association, and she is a Subeditor for Vol. 89 of the Albany Law Review.

In her free time, Sophie enjoys figure skating, traveling, and hiking in the Adirondacks.

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For previous years' boards, click HERE. 

The Holodomor and the International Tribunal for Yugoslavia

Envisioning an Improved Hypothetical Tribunal

By Justin Aragosa

Justin Aragosa, a 2024 graduate of Albany Law School, did his undergraduate studies in criminal justice and philosophy at SUNY Oneonta. Additionally, he completed an associate’s degree in Intelligence Studies from Cochise College, Arizona, while stationed at the Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca.
In law school, Justin twice served as a Competition Chair for the Anthony V. Cardona Moot Court Program, and he was active in the school’s Veterans’ Pro Bono Project and served on several Committees for the Student Bar Association.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Justin has served in the Army National Guard since 2015 in military intelligence. He recently graduated from Warrant Officer Candidate School and is currently back at the Army Intelligence Center for more training. In 2020, while deployed to the CENTCOM Area of Operations, he led an intelligence fusion center section, coordinated Special Forces reconnaissance missions, and supervised a team of over 20 soldiers in military intelligence operations. He earned numerous awards, including the Army Commendation Medal (x2), Army Achievement Medal (x2), Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
In his free time, Justin enjoys hiking, sports, and recently, photography.

This paper juxtaposes the Holodomor, a catastrophic famine in 1930s Soviet Ukraine, with the formation and impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).  It delves into the Holodomor's historical context and scholarly debates over its classification and assesses the ICTY's role in shaping international criminal law.

 Additionally, the study explores a theoretical tribunal for the Soviet Union's actions during the Holodomor, providing insights into the complexities of historical redress in international justice.

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To read the paper, open HERE.

Justice Robert Jackson’s International Law Jurisprudence

Protecting Fundamental Rights through Procedural Due Process

By Ashley C. DeGennaro 

Ashley C DeGennaro is a 2024 graduate of Albany Law School. A native of the Capital Region, Ashley grew up in Clifton Park before obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Haverford College.

In her time at Albany Law, Ashley served as a Subeditor and Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review and participated in the Domenick L. Gabrielli Appellate Advocacy Competition. She served as both a Sponsler Fellow Teaching Assistant for Federal Civil Procedure with Dean Connie Mayer, and a Constitutional Law Teaching Assistant for Professor Vincent Bonventre. She also served as a Judicial Intern to the U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, of the Northern District of New York.

Since her admission to the bar earlier this year, Ashley has been working as an Associate Attorney at Monaco Cooper Lamme & Carr in Albany.

Justice Robert H. Jackson served as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court from 1941 to his death in 1954. In addition to his work on the Court, Jackson is widely known for his work as Chief Prosecutor for the United States at the Nuremberg Trial, which he regarded as the most important work he had accomplished in his life.

Throughout his career, Jackson was a champion for due process, an ideal that did not waver throughout his time on the Supreme Court, nor in his time as a prosecutor at Nuremberg. During his time on the Court, Jackson was able to recognize the tensions between the government’s interest in maintaining national security and the individual’s interest in preserving personal liberties. He was a zealous advocate of fairness in the legal system and desired to limit the imposition on individual liberties, despite the presence of both national and international issues which caused concern over national security. Throughout his lifetime of service, Jackson helped sculpt the future of international law as it is known today. 

This paper discusses Justice Jackson’s jurisprudence during his time as Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials and also as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. This paper begins by analyzing Jackson’s advocacy for fairness and due process on the international stage at Nuremberg, a historical landmark in international law. This paper then analyzes Jackson’s commitment to such ideals on the national stage during his time on the Supreme Court through cases such as Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer and Korematsu v. United States. As a whole, the paper will seek to explore the work of Justice Jackson and his commitment to ensuring due process for every individual in the court system, regardless of nationality. 

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To read the paper, open HERE.

The Parsley Massacre and its Impact on Haitian-Dominican Relations

By Kimberly Bernard

Kimberley Bernard is a 2024 graduate of Albany Law School. A native of Westbury, NY, Kimberley was raised by Haitian immigrant parents. She completed her undergraduate studies at SUNY Albany, earning a Bachelor of Arts in English.

During law school, Kimberley gained diverse legal experience through internships with the Albany County Public Defender’s Office, the Honorable Richard A. Rivera, the New York State Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office, and the Family Violence Litigation Clinic. She also worked as a student assistant in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office and served as treasurer of the Black Law Students Association.

Following graduation, Kimberley joined the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission as a Legal Fellow.

Kimberley, a proud Haitian-American, is passionate about raising awareness of Haiti’s history, ongoing challenges, and, most importantly, its vibrant culture and richness. This paper was written for Professor Bonventre’s International Law of War and Crime Seminar.

This paper explores the historical complexities surrounding the Parsley Massacre, a brutal episode in the fraught relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Beginning with an analysis of the historical context, economic disparities, and factors leading to tension, the study delves into the rise of Rafael Trujillo and the anti-Haitian sentiments propagated by his regime. Focusing on the events of the Parsley Massacre itself, the paper examines the methods employed by Trujillo's government and the international community's response.

The aftermath section assesses the enduring impact on diplomatic relations, human rights, and the socio-cultural fabric of both nations. Drawing parallels with similar historical atrocities, the paper underscores the importance of historical memory and commemoration. It scrutinizes the efforts towards reconciliation, both on a bilateral level and within diaspora communities.

The study concludes with reflections on the lessons learned from the Parsley Massacre, advocating for increased historical awareness, educational initiatives, and international cooperation to prevent future conflicts. Through this comprehensive analysis, the paper contributes to a nuanced understanding of the Parsley Massacre and its ongoing implications for the interconnected histories of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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To read the paper, open HERE.