"Spain's campaigning judge seeks change in law to prosecute global corporations", 20 Aug 2015

…Baltasar Garzón, the Spanish judge who redefined the boundaries of cross-border justice, has set his sights on widening the definition of international law to target corporations that carry out economic or environmental crimes…Next month, he and other leading activists, judges and academics from a dozen countries will come together at a conference in Buenos Aires to push forward the idea that economic and environmental crimes be considered crimes against humanity, akin to torture or genocide. Actions that could be considered criminal…include those of…companies that turn a blind eye to the abusive exploitation of natural resources…The mechanism for prosecution would be universal jurisdiction, a provision in international law that allows judges to try cases of human rights abuses committed in other countries. The doctrine would be particularly helpful in going after large corporations, as it would allow the law to equally pursue perpetrators regardless of where their headquarters are located…