Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 1-1-2024
Abstract
The influence of foreign agents on the domestic affairs of countries is now a major issue in global affairs. This issue gained significance after foreign influence was blamed for a massive protest demanding fair election, rocked Moscow in 2011. It has been amplified after Russian involvement was cited for Donald Trump’s surprised election as President of the United States in 2016. There is now great anxiety among nations that foreign actors could influence electoral outcomes. Consequently, the past decade has seen a proliferation of laws regulating the operation of foreign agents within a country. Aggressive enforcement of Foreign Agents laws has brought to the foreground, the question of jurisdictional sovereignty. When is someone beyond the reach of legal process of a country? As countries seek to blunt the impact of foreign influence in their domestic affairs, they are finding novel ways to test the limit of their jurisdiction. This article explores the limit of the criminal jurisdiction of a country. It does so through the lens of United States v. Rafiekian and the decision of a small state to serve foreign criminal summonses in the U.S. to obtain jurisdiction over persons within the United States.
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