"Here, There and Everywhere": Is Double Criminality A Requirement for Extraterritorial Jurisdiction?

Can a state punish actions that occurred beyond its borders, even if those actions are legal in the place in which they occurred? Or should the application of a nation’s criminal laws to acts committed abroad depend on the principle of double criminality, which requires that the act is a criminal offence in both jurisdictions? This issue is crucial in cases such as cross-border surrogacy and international travel for abortion or assisted suicide. Despite its practical relevance, it has received little, if any, attention in the existing legal literature. This article aims to bridge this theoretical gap by exploring the arguments for and against the double criminality requirement, and its underlying rationale. The thesis presented here is that the requirement for double criminality should be anchored within the core values of liberal democracies, including tolerance, legal diversity between jurisdictions, moral pluralism, and individual autonomy.