Spain's Judicial Blowhards

"Spain is moving to rein in its investigative judges for trying alleged crimes against humanity from around the world, a roles that has led to high-profile cases against the governments of the US, China, Israel and others. ... The six investigating judges of Spain's National Court, employing the so-called principle of universal jurisdiction, are now handling 13 cases involving events that took place in other countries, from Rwanda to Iraq. One judge, Baltasar Garzon, is investigating allegations of US torture at Guantanamo Bay. Another is probing allegations that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. A third has summoned Chinese government ministers to testify about the crackdown on protests in Tibet. ... The move to limit the judges alarmed human-rights campaigners. 'There will be more impunity,' Hugo Relva, legal adviser to Amnesty International said before Tuesday's vote. ... The Chinese government warned Spain that bilateral relations could be damaged over the case regarding Tibet crackdowns. The Israeli government strongly criticized the investigation into its 2002 attack on a Hamas leader, which killed 14 other people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the case 'makes a mockery out of international law.' ... Behind the scenes, however, US officials have met with the Spanish government and its prosecutors to try to halt the two cases related to the US prison camp, according to officials of both countries. ... Spain's ... attorney-general, Candido Conde-Pumpido, warned recently that the justice system risked being turned into a 'plaything'," Thomas Catan at the WSJ, 20 May 2009.

How many divisions will Spain send to Communist China to try to enforce its summons? Not enough!