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UNITED STATES JURISDICTION (continued)
Jurisdiction Under International Law (continued)
Specific Extraterritorial Jurisdiction
Congress will, from time to time, enact statutes that specifically provide for extraterritorial jurisdiction. Two such statutes are the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act [hereinafter MEJA] and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act [hereinafter TVPRA].
Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act
18 U.S.C. § 3261 (2005).
Section 3261 states that "[w]hoever engages in conduct outside the United States that would constitute an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year if the conduct had been engaged in within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States" will be punished as provided for that offense. 18 U.S.C. § 3261. It applies to members of the Armed Forces, or those who are employed by or accompany the Armed Forces outside the United States. Id.
However, if the foreign country elects to prosecute such an individual, no United States "prosecution may be commenced." Id. § 3261(b). The legislation was passed based in part on a circuit split between the Ninth Circuit and the Second Circuit. The Ninth Circuit, in United States v. Corey, 232 F.3d 1166 (9th Cir. 2000) ruled that the US does have jurisdiction over the prosecution of a crime committed by one US citizen against another US citizen on a US installation abroad. The Second Circuit, however, in United States v. Gatlin, 216 F.3d 207 (2d Cir. 2000), declined to find jurisdiction based on similar facts; the court in Gatlin invited Congress to "enact legislation auhtorizing the exercise of jurisdiction by US courts over members of the armed forces and accompanying civilians who commit criminal offenses outside of the United States." In re Ski Train Fire in Kaprun, Aus., No. 01-MDL-1428 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) at *24 n.70
Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act
18 U.S.C. § 3271 (2006).
Section 3271 states that "whoever engages in conduct outside the United States that would constitute [a labor or sexual] offense ... if the conduct had been engaged in within the United States or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States" will be punished as provided for that offense. 18 U.S.C. § 3271(a). The TVPRA has a slightly more expansive applicability than the MEJA; rather than applying to members of the Armed Forces and its accompanying civilians, the TVPRA applies to those who are "employed by of accompanying the Federal Government outside the United States." Id. (emphasis added).
Like the MEJA, the TVPRA bars domestive prosecution of such an individual if a foreign government has already initaited prosecution in that country. Id. § 3271(b).
This statute was added on January 10, 2006, and there have been no prosecutions brought under it at the time of this writing.