Legal authority of a court to adjudicate conduct that took place outside of its territorial limits.
“Extraterritorial jurisdiction is the legal authority of the United States to prosecute criminal conduct that took place outside its borders.” Citizens Guide to U.S. Federal Law on the Extraterritorial Sexual Exploitation of Children, United States Dept. of Justice (2023).
“The term ‘extraterritorial jurisdiction’ refers to the assertion of authority by a State to affect the legal interests of individuals whose actions occur outside of the State’s territory. Extraterritorial jurisdiction may describe the authority to make law applicable to such persons (prescriptive jurisdiction); the authority to subject them to judicial processes (adjudicatory jurisdiction); or the authority to compel compliance and to redress noncompliance (enforcement jurisdiction).” Michael P. Scharf, Application of Treaty-Based Universal Jurisdiction to Nationals of Non-Party States, New England Law Review (2021).
“The terms ‘extraterritoriality’ and ‘extraterritorial jurisdiction’ refer to the competence of a State to make, apply and enforce rules of conduct in respect of persons, property or events beyond its territory.” Menno T. Kamminga, Extraterritoriality, in MAX PLANCK ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 1 (Anne Peters and Rudiger Wolfrum eds., 2020).
“Crime is traditionally proscribed, tried, and punished according to the laws of the place where it occurs.1 American criminal law applies beyond the geographical confines of the United States, however, under certain limited circumstances. State prosecution for overseas misconduct is limited almost exclusively to multi-jurisdictional crimes, that is, crimes where some elements of the offense are committed within the state and others are committed beyond its boundaries. A number of federal criminal statutes have extraterritorial application, but prosecutions have been relatively few. Extraterritorial application requires clear evidence of congressional intent. It must constitute the exercise of one or more of Congress’s constitutionally enumerated powers, subject to any constitutional limitations on the exercise of such powers. And generally, it must be consistent with international law. Even when each of these obstacles can be overcome, the government may be reluctant to prosecute because of practical and legal complications, and sometimes diplomatic considerations.” Extraterritorial Application of American Criminal Law, Congressional Research Services (March 21, 2023.)