84 INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICT Moreover, the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law provide that “in cases of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law constituting crimes under international law, States have the duty to investigate and, if there is sufficient evidence, the duty to submit to prosecution the person allegedly responsible for the violations and, if found guilty, the duty to punish her or him” (para. 4). 3.  Domestic and international jurisdiction While domestic courts have jurisdiction over violations that occurred within the territory of their own State, territory alone does not define the limits of jurisdiction. The legal obligations created by international human rights and humanitarian law have been widely recognized as extending beyond the territory of a State and to any place where the State exercises jurisdiction or control over persons. Furthermore, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, a State may—and for grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions must—prosecute alleged perpetrators for certain crimes irrespective of the location of the crime and the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim. For example, Geneva Convention IV on the protection of civilians establishes universal jurisdiction over grave breaches, providing that parties to the Convention “shall be under the obligation to search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, such grave breaches [of the present Convention], and shall bring such persons, regardless of their nationality, before its own courts. It may also, if it prefers, and in accordance with the provisions of its own legislation, hand such persons over for trial to another High Contracting Party concerned, provided such High Contracting Party has made out a prima facie case” (art. 146). This principle of universal jurisdiction derogates from the ordinary rules of criminal jurisdiction that require a territorial or personal link with the crime, the perpetrator or the victim. The rationale behind this principle is that “certain crimes are so harmful to international

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