Customary international crimes in English Courts

Can crimes under customary international law be tried' in English" courts without statutory enactment? The question - one of English, not international law - was brought to the fore by Lord Millet in R v. Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No. 3). Addressing the central question of when torture committed in Chile became criminal in England and Wales, his Lordship stated: Every state has jurisdiction under customary international law to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction in respect of international crimes ... Whether its courts have extraterritorial jurisdiction under its internal domestic law depends, of course, on its constitutional arrangements and the relationship between customary international law and the jurisdiction of its criminal courts. This article is concerned only with prosecution and extradition. It does not address the status in English courts of defences to criminal responsibility under customary international law. Nor does it consider such immunities as may be relevant.