Principal of Sovereignty

1
Principal of Sovereignty

• the quality or state of being sovereign.
• the status, dominion, power, or authority of a
  sovereign royalty.
• supreme and independent power or authority in
  government as possessed or claimed by a state or
  community. rightful status, independence, or
  prerogative.
• a sovereign state, community, or political unit.

2
Principal of Sovereignty

• it is not a matter of mere authority, but of
  supreme authority !
• The holder of sovereignty is superior to all
  authorities under its purview
• For example US Constitution over State
  Constitution

3
Nationality principle

• country has jurisdiction over its citizens no
  matter where they are located
• recognizes that a sovereign can adopt criminal
  laws which govern the conduct of the sovereigns
  nationals while outside of the sovereigns
  borders.
• has the effect of allowing a sovereign to adopt
  laws that make it a crime for its nationals to
  engage in conduct that is not illegal in the
  place where the conduct is performed

4
Nationality principle

• Example
• it a crime for its nationals to engage is sexual
  relations with minors while outside of its
  borders
• It is illegal to pay bribes outside of its
  borders to public officials of another sovereign.

5
Territoriality principle

• nation has the right of jurisdiction within its
  legal territory
• bars states from exercising jurisdiction beyond
  its borders, unless they has jurisdiction under
  other principles such as
• the principle of nationality
• the passive personality principle
• the protective principle,
• the universal jurisdiction.

6
Protective principle

• every country has jurisdiction over behavior that
  adversely affects its national security, even if
  the conduct occurred outside that country

7
Protective principle

• For example, in Yunis, the hijacker had already
  spent seven years in a Malta prison when the US
  lured him to international waters to bring him to
  the U.S. for prosecution.
• We got Noriega by military invasion.

8
Doctrine of Comity

• Mutual respect for the laws, and government of
  other countries in the matter of jurisdiction
  over their own citizens
• In many countries, comity is effective only to
  the extent that foreign laws or judgments do not
  directly conflict with the forum country's public
  policy

9
Doctrine of Comity

• A code of etiquette that governs the interactions
  of courts in different states, localities and
  foreign countries.
• Courts generally agree to defer scheduling a
  trial if the same issues are being tried in a
  court in another jurisdiction.
• In addition, courts in this country agree to
  recognize and enforce the valid legal contracts
  and court orders of other countries.
• for example, the United States will not enforce
  foreign judgments (such as defamation judgments)
  that present a conflict with the strong free
  speech protections in the U.S.

10
Act of State Doctrine

• All acts of other governments are considered to
  be valid by U.S. courts, even if such acts are
  inappropriate in the U.S.
• a nation is sovereign within its own borders, and
  its domestic actions may not be questioned in the
  courts of another nation.