Criminal Jurisdiction and Conceptions of Penality in Comparative Perspective

Abstract:     
The concept of criminal jurisdiction attracted little attention until the recent rise of international criminal law. Despite the recent upsurge of interest in criminal jurisdiction in the international sphere, domestic criminal jurisdiction remains understudied. This is a shame because, as in the international context, thinking about domestic criminal jurisdiction leads one fairly quickly to issues at the heart of state penality. Turned inward, conceptions of 'international' criminal jurisdiction in a given domestic system reflect that system’s fundamental conceptions of domestic criminal law, including most importantly the notions of crime and penal power itself, notions that can then be subjected to — and sharpened through — historical and comparative analysis.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 27

Keywords: jurisdiction, criminal jurisdiction, international criminal law, territoriality, personality, protective principle, universality, universal jurisdiction

JEL Classification: K14, K30, K33

working papers series