PUBLIC LAW II:
Public International
Law
Prof. Dr. Gleider Hernández
Professor of Public International
Law Institute for
International Law Faculty of
Law, KU Leuven
2020-2021
,Structure of Today’s Lecture
o Defining Jurisdiction in International Law
o The Exercise of Jursidiction
o Prescriptive Jurisdiction
• Territorial and Nationality Principles
• Contested principles: passive personality, the protective principle,
the universal principle
• Treaty-based extensions of jurisdiction
o Enforcement Jurisdiction
2
, Defining ‘Jurisdiction’
o Jurisdiction here describes ‘the limits of the legal
competence of a State … to make, apply, and
enforce rules of conduct upon persons
o Jurisdiction as a necessary corollary of
State sovereignty
o Balancing sovereignty between States—
competing claims of jurisdiction
o Safeguarded by fundamental duty of non-
intervention between States in the UN Charter
3