Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 2024
Keywords
Double criminality, dual criminality, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Extradition, Sovereignty, Comparative Law
Abstract
The idea that crime crosses borders is fast becoming ordinary, even old hat, particularly in an age of online crime such as ransomware attacks, cyber-extortion and the like. As we have become more geographically mobile, however, it is increasingly common for people to have engaged in criminal conduct in one state1 but then seek to exercise legal rights, or face legal entanglements, in others. Legal questions can then arise about what effect should be given by one state—in this article, Canada—to an individual’s conduct that was, or is alleged to have been, a crime in a foreign state. The inquiry boils down to this: what should the law do in situations where one’s status as a criminal offender crosses borders, or some party or state agency seeks to have it do so? Put another way, in situations where it matters legally that a person has committed a crime, does it matter that the crime was committed in a foreign state? And if so, how do we determine whether that foreign crime should be given legal effect here in Canada?
Recommended Citation
Robert J Currie, "When (and Where) is a Crime a Crime? “Double Criminality” as a Principle of Fundamental Justice" (Paper delivered at the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice's 47th Annual Conference, Ottawa, October 2023) [unpublished].
Comments
This paper is the product of the 2023 Charles D Gonthier Research Fellowship, which is awarded annually by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ).