Extraterritorial jurisdiction in Irish law

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Ireland uses several forms of extraterritorial jurisdiction, letting the country deal with crimes that happen abroad. The main idea is universal jurisdiction, which currently covers murder and manslaughter by Irish citizens, supported by older laws from 1829 and 1861 and updated in 1973. Some international treaties Ireland is part of require universal jurisdiction for certain crimes, such as terrorism and other international offenses. Ireland also criminalises some acts done abroad by Irish citizens or residents, including counterfeiting, money laundering, and corruption. In some cases, a crime abroad is only punishable if it would also be a crime in the place where it happened, for example child sex tourism and female genital mutilation.

Historically, the idea of extraterritorial reach was debated. In 1922, a proposal to give universal jurisdiction to Free State citizens was rejected. The Free State model followed the Canadian pattern, where the old Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 did not allow extraterritorial laws, a position later changed by the Statute of Westminster 1931, which allowed Dominions to pass extraterritorial laws. After Ireland’s 1937 constitution, Article 3 originally treated extraterritoriality as the same as the Free State. The Treason Act 1939 already covered Irish people for acts outside Ireland. The Criminal Law (Jurisdiction) Act 1976 let Ireland try people for crimes in Northern Ireland, and allowed trials in Northern Ireland for Irish suspects, helping with extradition difficulties during The Troubles. The Supreme Court later upheld the Act as constitutional. During the 1998–99 peace process, Article 3 was amended and Article 28 added a new provision: Ireland may exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction in line with generally recognised international law.

In recent years there have been notable cases. In 2015 a High Court judge blocked extradition to the United States for a terrorism case, saying the Director of Public Prosecutions had not explained why the person could not be charged in Ireland. In 2019, Irish citizen Lisa Smith was charged in Dublin with being a member of ISIL between 2015 and 2019 while living in the Middle East, under the Terrorist Offences Act 2005.