Does the US have juristriction over the whole world?

[Ian Mason]

On 26 Nov 2011, at 19:40, Peter Fairbrother wrote:

> Peter Fairbrother wrote:
>
>> It is not unusual for US law and US Courts to claim jurisdiction  
>> anywhere in the world, eg they do this over the taxpaying  
>> requirements of US citizens.
>
>
> BTW, UK law does this too - the Outer Space Act applies to UK  
> citizens activities anywhere in the world.
>

The difference between UK and US approaches is that UK law only  
applies extraterritorially to UK subjects or to persons "owing a duty  
to the crown". The latter has been used in cases where a foreign  
national is employed by the UK (e.g. a foreign spy employed overseas  
by the UK can commit treason against the crown). The US approach  
frequently claims extraterritorial jurisdiction over persons who are  
not US citizens and have no relationship to the US (e.g.  
"extraordinary rendition" under bounty-hunting laws or, as we would  
call it, criminal kidnapping).

Ian