Owing to the fact that torture is an 'international crime,' there may be circumstances when the courts of one country are able to judge torture that was perpetrated elsewhere. The ability to bring a criminal prosecution for crimes perpetrated elsewhere will depend on how the country proposing to exercise jurisdiction have implemented their obligations under the Convention against Torture. In some cases, courts will only exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction when the alleged perpetrator is present in the Country or when there are some other links with the Country. Likewise, it may be possible to bring a civil claim for damages against a perpetrator for crimes committed abroad. There a re complex rules relating to how and if such a perpetrator can be served and whether civil courts will proceed with the case. There are only few instances when civil claims can be lodged against a foreign state, and therefore it is usual to bring the claim against an individual perpetrator and/or an entity which can be said to have contributed to the perpetration of the human rights abuses.

For more information on the exercise of universal jurisdiction, see: http://www.redress.org/Universal_jurisdiction.html.