Practice question
A is a national of State X and allegedly commits a covered crime entirely in Y against a Y national. X has an applicable nationality-based statute; Y has territorial criminal legislation. X claims its nationality basis excludes Y. Y claims the foreign nationality prevents X from legislating. Assume no special treaty allocation. Which is correct?
- Only X can ever act.
- Only Y can ever act.
- Neither can act because the connections compete.
- Both may have jurisdictional bases; nationality does not automatically exclude territorial jurisdiction.
- The accused can extinguish both by changing travel plans.
Legal references
- UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, Articles 4 and 15: https://mandates.un.org/mandate/A/RES/55/25
- Revised Penal Code, Article 2: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/28/20426
- UNODC, Guide for the Legislative Incorporation and Implementation of Universal Anti-Terrorism Instruments, paragraph 359: https://www.unodc.org/documents/terrorism/Publications/Guide_Legislative_Incorporation_Implementation/English.pdf
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