International Law
State Jurisdiction
1. The term jurisdiction refers to the legal competence of State officials to prescribe and
enforce rules with regard to persons, things and events
2. Subjective Territorial Principle: State may claim jurisdiction over crimes commenced
within its territory but completed or consummated outside its territory
3. Objective Territorial Principle: State gets jurisdiction over the crime, if any, of the
constituent elements of the crime is consummated in its territory
4. The objective territorial principle is generally accepted and often applied. An example
may be cited of the case of S. S. Lotus and its decision by the PCIJ in 1927
5. Subjective territorial principle is accepted under only a few circumstances such as under
Geneva Convention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting of Currency, 1929, and the
Convention for the Suppression of Illicit Drug Traffic, 1936
Some Exceptions to the Exercise of Jurisdiction
1. Diplomatic Agents: by virtue of functions performed by them
2. Foreign Embassies: by virtue of functions performed within them
3. Foreign Sovereigns: absolute independence of every sovereign authority
4. Immunity in Respect of Public Property of Foreign Sovereign: however, distinction is
made between sovereign and commercial acts (Ohio v. Helvering)
5. International Organizations: Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United
Nations
6. Extradition Treaties
7. Foreign Troops: grant of free passage implies a waiver of all jurisdiction over the troops
during their passage
Criminal Jurisdiction in International Law
There are three main theories of criminal jurisdiction of States under international law:
1. Theory of Territoriality of Criminal Jurisdiction
- Supported by Great Britain, America and some other States
- State is entitled to exercise criminal jurisdiction only within its territory
2. Theory of Territoriality with Exceptions
- France and Germany are the chief exponents of this theory
- State may exercise criminal jurisdiction even outside its territory on the basis of the
national security and on economic ground
3. Theory of Extraterritoriality
- Turkey and Italy are the chief exponents
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International Law
- Theory states that crime is a social evil and it is in the interest of whole International
community to ensure that the criminals get due punishment
- States exercise jurisdiction even outside their territory
State Jurisdiction According to the Universal Principle
- All States are entitled to apprehend and punish the offenders
- Today, only two clear-cut cases of Universal jurisdiction: the crime of piracy jure
gentium (piracy according to the law of nations) and war crimes
- Any State could apprehend, try and punish pirates; codified in the Geneva
Conference on the law of the Sea, 1958
- Article 19 of the Geneva Convention on the High Seas: “every State may seize pirate
ship or aircraft, or a ship taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest
the persons and seize the property on board”
- Article 15 of the Convention includes illegal acts of violence, detention or any act of
deprecation, etc. in the definition of piracy
- A case may be made that the universal jurisdiction principle should apply to the
crime of hijacking also
- Hague Convention on Hijacking, 1971 has brought the offence of hijacking very
close to that of piracy under International customary law
- Also, generally the State agree that States have universal jurisdiction to apprehend,
arrest and try the person accused of war crimes
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