Convergence and divergence in the regulation of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction in China, Japan, and South Korea

Claims to extraterritorial authority are common the world over. However, approaches by municipal constitutional and criminal courts to the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction converge and diverge, making it difficult to discern jurisdictional hierarchies at international law or to identify commonly accepted practices. Legislatures and courts inadvertently (or otherwise) weave complex webs of intersecting claims over crimes. The experiences of China, Japan, and South Korea are no exception. Nonetheless, discerning themes in those convergences and divergences is illuminating in seeking to understand the development of law on jurisdiction.