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In this article the author discusses the March, 2010 decision of the Spanish Supreme Court to prosecute the Spanish investigative magistrate Baltasar Garzón on a claim that he intentionally overstepped his judicial power. He notes that in 2008, Garzón initiated an investigation into a perpetration of crimes against humanity by supporters of the Spanish General Francisco Franco throughout the civil war of the late 1930s. He opines on corruption within the Spanish judicial system.

This editorial presents a look by Spain to bring international leaders to trial for "crimes against humanity" by using universal jurisdiction. The Spanish courts are currently pursuing Efraín Ríos Montt, the former president of Guatemala, for torturing and killing over 200,000 Mayans during the thirty-six year civil war. The universal jurisdiction law came about in the 1970s, when Spain was trying to prosecute ETA members who were in France, and has since been expanded.