>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 07/15/02 04:40PM >>> <snip> >The way it works here is dual punishability. If something is punishable >in the country where it is done by a Dutch citizen and it is illegal >here as well, the Dutch Department of Justice will put in a request to >transfer the case to its jurisdiction. It is up to the other country to >honour or deny that request. >But I doubt what Lindh did was illegal under Afghan law at that time.
>Jochem Well, the way it works there is not the way it works here. That's the great thing about different countries - they are not, in fact, the same. IANAL, (just need to make clear I am pulling this from my behind). The way I see it, we have two sets of laws here in the US (actually many more than that, but I will try to keep this simple.) Federal Laws and State Laws. For the most part, state laws are only enforcable if the offense happens IN THAT STATE. Federal laws, on the other hand, are more an issue of who did it and who they did it to rather than where they did it. For example, kidnapping and transporting across state lines is illegal even if the crime happens outside the US, if it was done BY a US Citizen or was done TO a US citizen, or both. In the case of a non-US citizen committing a crime outside the US, which is not a crime where it happens, to a US citizen, we seldom get the chance to try that person, due to jurisdiction and diplomatic issues. But why do you think Manuel Noriega is sitting in a Florida jail? This is all nothing new. So Lindh was only charged with FEDERAL crimes, and because he is a US citizen, regardless of where he committed them, he can be prosecuted. But he couldn't be charged with STATE crimes (like speeding, or robbery, or rape), because it happened outside a state. I could be totally off-base here, but that is the way I understand it. And I have to admit, I think we have it right on this issue, where the Netherlands does not. Jerr ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
