Universal Jurisdiction and Selective Application
When Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Australia, calls from organizations such as the Australian Centre for International Justice (ACIJ) and the Palestinian Justice Movement Sydney for his arrest on charges related to 'incitement to genocide' and war crimes were summarily rejected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. This rejection was based on a combination of diplomatic immunity and a
general disinclination to engage with the principle of universal jurisdiction in practice against an allied head of state. The Australian government's positioning, articulated by Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles, was that President Herzog was a 'welcomed visitor' and that the government would 'not countenance' actions inconsistent with this status. This stance aligns with historical patterns
of states prioritizing diplomatic relations over the consistent application of international criminal law. CASE A: The Herzog Visit (2026) Australia's response to calls for Herzog's arrest: Prime Minister Albanese's office invoked diplomatic immunity, stating, 'We afford respect to everyone who visits here... particularly someone who is the Head of State.' (The New Arab, 2026). This effectively
meant that, irrespective of the alleged crimes, the individual's status as a head of state provided insurmountable legal protection. CASE B: Other Universal Jurisdiction Cases Contrast this with the 1998 arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London. Spain issued an international arrest warrant for Pinochet, then a Senator for Life, on charges of torture and genocide committed