Whether alternative сitizenship might affect the prosecution in a particular jurisdiction?
The recent high-profile story of the arrest of Pavel Durov, who possesses multiple citizenships, has drawn a close attention of the international community.
There were a lot of active discussions about Pavel Durov’s citizenships and whether they might affect the prosecution in a particular jurisdiction.
We always note that obtaining citizenship means the emergence of not only rights, but also other consequences.
And today we would like to draw the attention of our readers to how the institution of prosecution works when a citizen of one state commits an offense on the territory of another state, as well as when a person has multiple citizenships.
1.The act of prosecution is conducted based on two main principles: territorial and citizenship.
The territorial principle means that the state has the right to prosecute all individuals who have committed a crime on its territory, regardless of citizenship. Under such circumstances, on the territory where the crime was committed, the state applies the provisions of the criminal legislation to the foreign citizen.
The citizenship principle allows the state to make its citizens accountable for crimes committed outside the state borders.
2. Extradition is the process of making a person return to another country to face criminal charges or serve a sentence where they have been accused of doing something illegal.
The possibility of extradition is regulated by international treaties and countries’ domestic legislation.
For EU countries, one of the key international treaties regulating extradition is the European Convention on Extradition of 1957. However, not all countries take part in this convention, and therefore the extradition condition may differ.
It is also worth considering that not all states agree to extradite both their own citizens and foreigners. Legislation may include the elements of crimes, in the presence of which the state will refuse to extradite a person, for example, human trafficking, crimes against the security of humanity, etc.
3. There are especially difficult cases where an individual has multiple citizenships. If a person with multiple citizenships committed a crime in one of the countries of which he is a citizen, then, as a general rule, it is this country that will have the priority right to hold him accountable.
However, there may be situations where both countries claim criminal liability. In such cases, international treaties and agreements between countries are applied, and generally accepted norms of international law are considered.
In general, if a crime was committed on the territory of one state, it has the primary right to prosecute. However, if the crime affects the interests of both countries, diplomatic channels and agreements may be used to work out a compromise.
Author: Yaroslavna Zadesenskaya
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