A/HRC/41/CRP.1 PART V. Prosecution, remedies and reparations 388. An important element of the right to life is the obligation on States parties, to prosecute extrajudicial executions and all other unlawful deaths in accordance with international standards. States parties must generally refrain from addressing violations of the right to life through administrative or disciplinary measures. A criminal investigation is normally required, which should lead, if enough incriminating evidence is gathered, to a criminal prosecution. “Immunities and amnesties provided to perpetrators of intentional killings and to their superiors, and comparable measures leading to de facto or de jure impunity, are, as a rule, incompatible with the duty to respect and ensure the right to life, and to provide victims with an effective remedy.”320 389. Principle 18 of the 1989 UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions provides that: “Governments shall ensure that persons identified by the investigation as having participated in extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions in any territory under their jurisdiction are brought to justice. Governments shall either bring such persons to justice or cooperate to extradite any such persons to other countries wishing to exercise jurisdiction. This principle shall apply irrespective of who and where the perpetrators or the victims are, their nationalities or where the offence was committed.”321 390. States must punish individuals responsible for violations in a manner commensurate with the gravity of their crimes. The legal duty to punish those individuals responsible for violations of the right to life is not a formality and neither is it a question of revenge. By enforcing the legal norms that States have established regarding the respect due to human life, prosecution and trials are meant to ensure there can be no impunity for such crimes and at the same time play a fundamental role in their prevention. 391. The process of holding accountable those responsible for the killing of Mr. Kashoggi raises complex legal questions, on top of the sensitive political and geo-strategic environment in which they are raised. This Section will first analyse the legal challenges that the prosecution of Mr. Khashoggi’s killers raise. It will review the steps taken to date by prosecutors or lawyers in the three countries where prosecution of the alleged perpetrators and mastermind, and formal legal accountability for the killing of Mr. Jamal Kashoggi is, or may be, considered, namely the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States. It will then turn to an examination of the remedies and reparations available to date. I. Legal challenges Resolving the conflicts of jurisdiction 392. Both Turkey and Saudi Arabia can assert jurisdiction but there are practical obstacles to be overcome. Turkey clearly has territorial jurisdiction, which is considered the primary basis for jurisdiction under international law; while Saudi Arabia can claim jurisdiction based on the nationality (both active and passive personality, given both the perpetrators and the victim were Saudi nationals) and possibly territorial responsibility, given that a number of the constituent acts of the crime (i.e. planning, conspiracy) took place in Saudi Arabia. 393. Where there is a conflict between States’ claims to jurisdiction, there is no clear rule of international law that confers jurisdiction on the state with the strongest nexus to a situation. Principles like non-intervention, sovereign equality, and proportionality have been cited to limit how jurisdiction can be exercised. Arguments can be made on “reasonableness” or primary nexus, but there is no clear rule of law. 320 321 GC36, para 27 UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in its Resolution 1989/65 of 24 May 1989, Principle 18 (emphasis supplied). The Principles were welcomed by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 44/159 of 15 December 1989. 77