Terrorism and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases: Recent Developments


 

Publication Date: September 2002

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Law and ethics

Type:

Abstract:

A nation's criminal jurisdiction is usually limited to its own territory. In a surprising number of instances, however, federal criminal law applies abroad to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.

The USA PATRIOT Act and legislation implementing treaties on terrorist bombings and on financing terrorism enlarge the extent of federal extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction. The USA PATRIOT Act's contributions involve credit cards, money laundering, and the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Congress has enacted laws proscribing various common law crimes such as murder, robbery, or sexual assaults when committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, i.e., when committed aboard an American vessel or within a federal enclave. Whether federal enclaves in other countries are included within the special territorial jurisdiction of the United States is a question that divides the lower courts. The Act provides that the overseas establishments of federal governmental entities and residences of their staffs are within the special territorial jurisdiction of the United States for purposes of crimes committed by or against U.S. nationals.

Existing federal law prohibits fraud and other forms of misconduct involving credit cards, passwords, and other "access devices." The Act provides a statement of extraterritorial jurisdiction when the device is that of an America bank or other U.S. entity and the case involves some form of transmission, transportation, or storage in the U.S. It is not clear whether the amendment is intended to narrow or simply confirm the prior scope of extraterritorial coverage.

The Act's money laundering amendments permit federal prosecution for the overseas laundering of the proceeds of various federal crimes, as well as for the domestic laundering of the proceeds of various foreign crimes including foreign political corruption.

The legislation implementing the international conventions on terrorist bombings and on financing terrorism replicates existing federal law in many respects. It becomes fully effective when the conventions enter into force for the United States. At that point, it will authorize federal prosecution of overseas bombings or financing terrorism in other countries based solely upon the fact that the United States is able to obtain custody of the offenders.

This report appears in an abridged form, stripped of its footnotes and many of its citations to authority, as CRS Report RS21306, Terrorism and Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases: Recent Developments in Brief.