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Federal Criminal Law

Applying US statutes beyond US borders

Both the U.S. Constitution and international law provide multiple bases for Congress to enact laws that apply outside of U.S. territory. In some statutes, Congress explicitly states that the statute is intended to apply extraterritorially. In many other statutes, it does not, and whether any particular statute applies extraterritorially is not always clear. The next three case, Bowman, remains a standard source for courts in determining whether any given law has extraterritorial effect. The subsequent two cases, Pasquantino and Hussain, involve statutes that, as interpreted by courts, regulate extraterritorial conduct or interests without formally "applying" extraterritorially.