Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
to exercise
authority
In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''T ...
beyond its normal boundaries.
Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the external territory (except by the exercise of force), it must be agreed either with the legal authority in the external territory, or with a legal authority that covers both territories. When unqualified, ETJ usually refers to such an agreed jurisdiction, or it will be called something like "claimed ETJ".
The phrase may also refer to a country's laws extending beyond its boundaries in the sense that they may authorise the courts of that country to enforce their jurisdiction against parties appearing before them in with respect to acts they allegedly engaged in outside that country. This does not depend on the co-operation of other countries, since the affected people are within the relevant country (or at least, in a case involving a person being tried ''
in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in ab ...
'', the case is being heard by a court of that country). For example, many countries have laws which give their criminal courts jurisdiction to try prosecutions for
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, sexual offences against children, computer crimes and/or
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
committed outside their national boundaries. Sometimes such laws only apply to nationals of that country, and sometimes they may apply to anyone.
Terminology
Some confusion has arisen to the meaning of 'extraterritorial jurisdiction'. In its widely-used application, the term refers to where criminal acts were committed outside the sovereign territory of a prosecuting state. A possible ambiguity has been noted by
Cedric Ryngaert, Professor of Public International Law and Head of the Department of International and European Law at Utrecht University, who notes that a state asserting jurisdiction over crimes committed in other jurisdictions would still prosecute in the state's own territorial courts.
Cases of exercised jurisdiction
Diplomatic missions
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country. of foreign embassies and consulates in host countries is governed by the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among government ...
and the
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. They remain under the jurisdiction of the host country but are 'inviolable' (the host country's agents may not enter the premises, or detain accredited diplomats).
Military forces
Status of forces agreement A status of forces agreement (SOFA) is an agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing military forces in that country. SOFAs are often included, along with other types of military agreements, as part of a comprehensive security ...
s and
visiting forces agreements are in effect in many countries that allow visiting forces to exercise jurisdiction over members of their forces that are stationed in the host country.
Criminal law
Criminal jurisdiction can be of an extraterritorial nature where:
* a nation asserts it either generally or in specific cases under its domestic law,
* a
supranational authority (such as the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
) has created an
international court
International courts are formed by treaties between nations or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations and include ''ad hoc'' tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under ...
to deal with a specific case (e.g.
war crimes in a certain country), or
* an international court has been created under a
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...
to deal with a stated area of jurisdiction.
Criminal code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
s in certain countries assert jurisdiction over crimes committed outside the country:
* in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the ''Code pénal'' asserts general jurisdiction over crimes by, or against, the country's citizens, no matter where they may have occurred; this is also the case with regard to those who became French citizens after the act.
Double criminality
Double criminality, or dual criminality, is a requirement in the extradition law and international prisoner transfers of many countries. It states that a suspect can be extradited from one country to stand trial for breaking a second country's la ...
is required except in the cases of felonies (crimes) which carry custodial sentences of ten years or more.
* in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, the
Penal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
specifies certain cases and applicable lists of crimes over which jurisdiction will be asserted.
Many countries have implemented laws that allow their nationals to be prosecuted by their courts for crimes such as
war crimes and
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
even when the crime is committed extraterritorially. In addition, the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
has been incorporated into domestic law in many countries to provide for the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
to exercise jurisdiction within their borders.
Sanctions against foreign countries
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...
against other countries may be instituted under either domestic law or under the authority of the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...
, and their severity can include measures against foreign persons operating outside the country in question.
In 2017, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
and
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
President
Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker (; born 9 December 1954) is a Luxembourgish politician who served as the 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and 12th President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Finance Minister ...
criticized the draft of
new U.S. sanctions against
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
targeting the EU–Russia energy projects.
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
’s foreign ministry described the new U.S. sanctions as illegal under international law due to their extraterritorial reach.
Competition law
Extraterritorial jurisdiction plays a significant role in regulation of transnational
anti-competitive practices
Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws differ among state and federal laws to ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usuall ...
. In the U.S., extraterritorial impacts in this field first arose from ''
Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States'', where
Imperial Oil in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
was ordered to be divested from
Standard Oil. Current practice dates from ''
United States v. Alcoa'', where the ''effects doctrine'' was introduced, allowing for jurisdiction over foreign offenders and foreign conduct, so long as the economic effects of the anticompetitive conduct are experienced on the domestic market. The effects doctrine has been gradually developed in the U.S. and then in various forms accepted in other jurisdictions, also in the developing world. In the
EU it is recognised based on the ''qualified effects'' or ''implementation test''.
Extraterritorial jurisdiction in the area of
antitrust faces various limitations, such as the problem of accessing foreign-based evidence, as well as the difficulties of challenged anticompetitive conduct arising from foreign state involvement.
Application in specific countries
Commonwealth of Nations
The ability of parliaments of
Commonwealth countries to legislate extraterritorially was confirmed by s. 3 of the ''
Statute of Westminster 1931''.
In
Australia, extraterritorial jurisdiction of the state parliaments was authorized by s.2 of the ''
Australia Act 1986
The Australia Act 1986 is the short title of each of a pair of separate but related pieces of legislation: one an Act of the Commonwealth (i.e. federal) Parliament of Australia, the other an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In ...
''.
Canada
The ''
Criminal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
'' asserts jurisdiction over the following offences outside
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
:
:* on a Canadian aircraft in flight, or on any other flight which terminates in Canada, for any
indictable offence
:* on any aircraft or in any airport in the world, for endangering such facilities
:* by a
Canadian citizen
Canadian nationality law details the conditions in which a person is a national of Canada. With few exceptions, almost all individuals born in the country are automatically citizens at birth. Foreign nationals may naturalize after living in C ...
,
permanent resident
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...
, or
stateless person resident in Canada, for offences relating to
cultural property
Cultural property does not have a universal definition, but it is commonly considered to be tangible (physical, material) items that are part of the cultural heritage of a group or society, as opposed to less tangible cultural expressions. They i ...
protected by the ''
''
:* against or on board a Canadian ship on the
high seas
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
or a
fixed platform attached to the
continental shelf of Canada, or by or against a Canadian citizen on any ship or fixed platform, or by any person who is found in Canada after such offence
:* on a Canadian ship or aircraft, relating to
::*
hostage taking
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
,
::* offences against internationally protected persons or
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
personnel, or
::*
terrorism financing
Terrorism financing is the provision of funds or providing financial support to individual terrorists or non-state actors.
Most countries have implemented measures to counter terrorism financing (CTF) often as part of their money laundering la ...
:* on the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
:* involving
nuclear material
Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", co ...
:* involving
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
:*
terrorist activity
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
against Canadian citizens or Canadian government missions, or intended to compel the Canadian government, or any provincial government, to do or not do a particular act
:* relating to
sexual offence
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.
Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
s against children
China
Article 38 of the
Hong Kong national security law
The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...
, passed in Jun 2020, asserts that the law applies to all persons - regardless of nationality - both inside and outside
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
Crimes covered under the national security law include:
:* advocating, planning, or supporting
secession
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...
or changes in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
or the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
sovereignty.
:* subverting the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
government and system, including related participation, organizing, planning, and financially supporting these activities
:* substantially interfering or obstructing the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Hong Kong government functions
:* acts of
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, defined as including damaging transportation equipment, causing traffic obstructions, or otherwise substantially interfering with the public's health and safety
:* colluding with foreign forces to harm national security, defined as including causing substantial obstruction to the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Hong Kong government policies, controlling elections, seeking foreign
sanctions, or inciting hate against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments
Whether this assertion has legal merit remains to be seen.
Ireland
United Kingdom
Under Section 72 of the
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeur ...
, British citizens can be prosecuted for sexual offences committed against children abroad. Section 72 was used to convict paedophile
Richard Huckle
Richard William Huckle (14 May 1986 – 13 October 2019) was an English serial child sex offender. He was arrested by Britain's National Crime Agency in 2014 after a tip-off from the Australian Federal Police and convicted in 2016 of 71 charge ...
on 71 counts of serious sexual offences against children in Malaysia. Huckle was sentenced to 22 life sentences. While no official tally is kept, seven people are believed to have been convicted under Section 72.
The
Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003
The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (c. 31) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom applying to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It replaced the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, extending the ban on female genital mut ...
asserted extraterritorial jurisdiction to close the loophole whereby girls could be taken outside the UK to undergo
FGM
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...
procedures.
The
Nuclear Explosions (Prohibition and Inspections) Act 1998
#
The Nuclear Explosions (Prohibition and Inspections) Act 1998 (c. 7) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to implement and enforce the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996. It is not yet in force.
The Act explicitly declares that ...
in Section 2 prohibits United Kingdom nationals, Scottish partnerships or bodies incorporated under the law of any part of the United Kingdom from knowingly causing a nuclear explosion in the United Kingdom "or elsewhere".
United States
Municipal and state law
In the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, many
states have
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
s or even
constitutional provisions which permit
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
to make certain decisions about the land beyond the town's
incorporated limits.
:* Examples of states which allow cities to claim ETJ with respect to
zoning
Zoning is a method of urban planning in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into areas called zones, each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a si ...
or other matters, either generally or prior to
annexation, are:
::*
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
::*
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
::*
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
,
::*
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, and
::*
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
:* In
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, county
Local Agency Formation Commission Local Agency Formation Commissions or LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies of the State of California. LAFCOs are located in all 58 counties and exercise regulatory and planning powers in step with their prescribed directive to oversee the ...
s determine
spheres of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity.
While there may be a formal al ...
that cities may exercise over areas outside their boundaries.
Federal law
The U.S.
Criminal Code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
asserts the following items to fall within the ''special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States'', much of which is extraterritorial in nature:
# The
high seas
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
and any other waters within the
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular state, including any vessels owned by US persons that are travelling on them
# Any US vessel travelling on the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
, connecting waters or the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
(where that river forms part of the
Canada–United States border)
# Any lands reserved or acquired for the use of the United States, and under the exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction thereof
# Any island claimed under the ''
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act (, enacted August 18, 1856, codified at §§ 1411-1419) is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession, in the name of the United States, of unclai ...
''
# Any US aircraft flying over waters in the same manner as US vessels
# Any US
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
when in flight
# Any place outside the jurisdiction of any nation with respect to an offense by or against a national of the United States
# Any foreign vessel during a voyage having a scheduled departure from or arrival in the United States with respect to an offense committed by or against a national of the United States
# Offenses committed by or against a national of the United States in
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
s,
consulate
A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...
s, military and other missions, together with related residences, outside the US
#
International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act
The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act 1993 (IPKCA) is a United States federal law. H.R. 3378, approved December 2, was assigned Public Law No. 103-173 and signed as Public Law 103-322 by President Bill Clinton on September 2, 1993. This ...
In order to deal with the issue of
private military contractor
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...
s and
private security contractor
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military ...
s being used by U.S. Government agencies overseas, the ''
Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act'' was passed by Congress to subject them to a similar manner of jurisdiction.
Certain federal property has the status of
federal enclave
In United States law, a federal enclave is a parcel of federal property within a state that is under the "Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States". In 1960, the year of the latest comprehensive inquiry, 7% of federal p ...
, restricting the application of state laws, but that has been partially rectified by the ''
Assimilative Crimes Act The Assimilative Crimes Act, , makes state law applicable to conduct occurring on lands reserved or acquired by the Federal government as provided in , when the act or omission is not made punishable by an enactment of Congress.
History
The first A ...
''. Similarly, state jurisdiction is restricted on
Native American tribal lands.
Generally, the U.S. founding fathers and early courts believed that American laws could not have jurisdiction over sovereign countries. In a 1909
Supreme Court case, Justice
Oliver Wendel Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...
introduced what came to be known as the "presumption against extraterritoriality," making explicit this judicial preference that U.S. laws not be applied to other countries. American thought about extraterritoriality has changed over the years, however. For example, the
Alien Tort Statute
The Alien Tort Statute ( codified in 1948 as ; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts committed in vi ...
of 1789 allows foreign citizens in the United States to bring cases before federal courts against foreign defendants for violations of the "law of nations" in foreign countries. Although this statute was ignored for many years, U.S. courts since the 1980s have interpreted it to allow foreigners to seek justice in cases of
human-rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
violations in foreign lands, such as in ''
Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain
''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain'', 542 U.S. 692 (2004), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the Alien Tort Statute and the Federal Tort Claims Act. Many ATS claims were filed after the Second Circuit ruling in ''Filártiga v. Peña-Irala' ...
''.
In ''
Morrison v. National Australia Bank,'' 2010, the Supreme Court held that in interpreting a statute, the "presumption against extraterritoriality" is absolute unless the text of the statute explicitly says otherwise.
''Morrison v. National Australia Bank'' syllabus
/ref>
Economic law
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...
with extraterritorial impact have been instituted under:
:* the ''Trading with the Enemy Act
Trading with the Enemy Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to trading with the enemy.
''Trading with the Enemy Acts'' is also a generic name for a class of legislation generally pas ...
'' (as in the case of the embargo against Cuba)
:* the ''Arms Export Control Act
The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Title II of , codified at ) gives the President of the United States the authority to control the import and export of defense articles and defense services. The H.R. 13680 legislation was passed by the 94th ...
'' and '' International Traffic in Arms Regulations'' (in governing the re-export of subject goods and technologies after initial export from the US)
:* the ''International Emergency Economic Powers Act
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Title II of , is a United States federal law authorizing the president to regulate international commerce after declaring a national emergency in response to any unusual and extraordinary t ...
'' (especially in the case of sanctions against Iran
There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its inva ...
)
:* the ''Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on July 27, 2017, 98–2, after it passed the House 419 ...
''
Unlike most nations, the United States also attempts extraterritorial application of U.S. personal tax laws. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is an extension of this concept, which focuses on enforcement.
See also
* Free-trade zone
A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cus ...
* Extraterritoriality
In international law, extraterritoriality is the state of being exempted from the jurisdiction of local law, usually as the result of diplomatic negotiations.
Historically, this primarily applied to individuals, as jurisdiction was usually cl ...
* International child abduction
The term international child abduction is generally synonymous with international ''parental kidnapping,'' ''child snatching'', and ''child stealing.'' However, the more precise legal usage of ''international child abduction'' originates in ...
* Taxation of non resident Americans
An Accidental American is someone whom US law deems to be an American citizen, but who has only a tenuous connection with that country. For example, American nationality law provides (with limited exceptions) that anyone born on US territory is a ...
* Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (U.S. law)
* Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law
The Nazis and Nazi Collaborators (Punishment) Law () is a 1950 Israeli law passed by the First Knesset that provides a legal framework for the prosecution of crimes against Jews and other persecuted people committed in Nazi Germany, German-occup ...
* General Data Protection Regulation
References
External links
Extra-territorial jurisdiction of ECHR states
- factsheet of ECtHR case law
*
Domestic Laws Against Genocide
' - a comprehensive list of municipal laws criminalising genocide. Many of them include clauses to allow extraterritorial jurisdiction.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
Extraterritorial jurisdiction