Lawmakers in Spain voted yesterday in favour of a bill that will reduce the capacity of the country's courts to pursue human-rights abuses committed abroad.
The bill curbing the use of the doctrine of universal jurisdiction, which allows judges to try certain cases of crimes against humanity that took place in other countries, was passed by 180 votes to 137.
Since the doctrine passed into national law in 1985, Spanish judges have used it to pursue US soldiers in Iraq, Israeli defence officials and Argentine military officers.
While very few investigations opened under the doctrine have seen people brought to trial in Spain, they have sparked diplomatic rows with some countries.
A Spanish judge earlier this month sought international arrest warrants for former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, former prime minister Li Peng and three other top Chinese officials as part of a probe into alleged genocide in Tibet.
That prompted a diplomatic protest from China, a significant economic partner of Spain, which said it was "strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed" to the judge's move.