The arrest warrant issued against former foreign minister Tzipi Livni in a British court "makes a mockery of universal jurisdiction," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Tuesday.

Ayalon urged the British government to address the loophole in the legal system making the warrants possible.

"I don't see how Israelis and other officials can continue to visit the UK if this troublesome situation continues," the deputy foreign minister said.

"There could be a big diplomatic cost if Israeli leaders cannot visit London and it will affect our relationship and will impact on the ability of the British government to contribute to the Middle East peace process which is not something we would like to see." 

Britain pledged on Tuesday to change a peculiar legal power that permits judges to order the arrest of visiting politicians and generals, a threat currently focused on Israeli officials that could potentially be invoked against President Obama or Russian Prime Minister Putin. The latest target has been Tzipi Livni, the former foreign minister of Israel and currently the country's opposition leader. Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced that Britain would no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials by judges invoking universal jurisdiction.
    Legal experts in England and Israel say "universal jurisdiction" could be abused endlessly to harass any high-profile visitor who oversaw a military or anti-terrorist operation. "Why not use this against Vladimir Putin over Russia's role in Chechnya? There is no end to it," said Yehuda Blum, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN. "The abuse and misuse of this concept of universal jurisdiction should be discontinued." Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Center at Oxford University, said the demands of global diplomacy required leaders to be able to travel abroad without facing arrest threats.

(Jpost and NYtimes)