Can traditional approaches to criminal jurisdiction adapt to the new global reality of the digital era? In this innovative book, leading experts in criminal, international and internet law unite to address this fundamental question. They consider how jurisdictional regimes are orientated around concepts of territoriality and extraterritoriality, how these categories are increasingly blurred in the digital era, and how a range of jurisdictional transformations are occurring in the process.
Part I presents novel doctrinal, empirical and theoretical perspectives on criminal jurisdiction, exploring how states are shaping and reimagining jurisdictional concepts in the crafting and interpretation of criminal offences, and the ramifications of increasing jurisdictional concurrency in state practice.
Part II focuses on the investigative and enforcement powers of the state to assess how these issues are transforming traditional understandings of jurisdictional rules and boundaries, the challenges and opportunities that these present for law enforcement authorities, and the sorts of constraints and safeguards that may be necessary as a result. The picture that emerges is a world of jurisdictional rules in a state of flux, which demands the diversity of legal perspectives presented in this book for documenting, rationalising and moving beyond the transformations that are taking shape in modern statecraft.
Can traditional approaches to territorial jurisdiction adapt to the new global reality? Leading experts in criminal law and internet law unite to address this fundamental question. They consider whether this can be done through the development of parallel concepts such as extraterritorial or universal jurisdiction, or whether the situation requires completely new kinds of approaches to criminal jurisdiction and transnational crime.
The book illuminates the way in which questions of jurisdiction are becoming increasingly important to the investigation, prosecution, and punishment of crime, as with the growth of technology and the internet many crimes no longer take place within neat national boundaries. Increasingly, criminal lawyers grapple with complex answers to seemingly simple questions:
- Where was the crime actually committed?
- Which body has authority to investigate?
- Which court has jurisdiction to hear the case and impose a sentence?
Part 1 looks at theoretical perspectives on criminal jurisdiction and how traditional jurisdictional concepts and understandings are being challenged, transformed, and reimagined in the era of the internet, cloud computing and social media. Part 2 homes in on the investigative powers of the state, to explore how these practical issues can inform the continuing transformation of current challenges.