Policy paper

Arrest warrants

The jurisdiction of our courts is generally territorial, which means that it applies to acts committed in England and Wales. A few offences,…

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Documents

Arrest warrants (PDF file - 65kb)

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternativeformats@homeoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

The jurisdiction of our courts is generally territorial, which means that it applies to acts committed in England and Wales. A few offences, such as murder, can be tried here if they were committed abroad by a British national.

There are some offences however that attract universal jurisdiction, which means that they can be tried in the courts of England and Wales whatever the nationality of the alleged perpetrator and even though the crime took place outside the United Kingdom.

There are very few of these offences, and universal jurisdiction is usually claimed only as a result of international Treaty obligations.

Date: Fri Mar 25 12:48:46 GMT 2011

Full Document

Published 25 March 2011