Abstract

It seems that there is no international legal obligation, neither in international treaties nor in general international law, that confirms the existence of state legal obligations on the exercise of universal civil jurisdiction against gross violations of human rights. However, while its implementation is not prohibited, it seems necessary to reconcile the state jurisdiction with the right to justice of victims, which creates a shared _erga omnes_ commitment to prevent the denial of justice. Private international law offers jurisdictional paths that have served to ensure such access in practice and, in this sense, the forum of necessity, as a alternative institution, would be perhaps one of the most effective means. As the _Naït- Liman v. Switzerland_ case presented before the European Court of Human Rights demonstrate, though, the requirements prescribed to submit a claim through the necessity forum can become an excessive burden from the point of view of the right to justice. _Received_: 30 January 2020 _Accepted_: 20 May 2020 _Published online_: 26 June 2020