ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: General Jurisdiction, Continuity Equation, Terra Nullius
Document Summary
The general ability to assume prescriptive jurisdiction the right to legislate for matters beyond the territorial domain flowed from the absolute sovereignty of the state. It could be curtailed only by positive limitation. The concept of state jurisdiction over persons, property and territory encompasses two distinct ideas. Prescriptive jurisdiction = the power of a state to assert the applicability of its national law to any person, property, territory or event, wherever they may be situated or wherever they may occur. Lotus case a state is virtually unlimited by international law in the exercise of its prescriptive jurisdiction, save only that it may have accepted specific international obligations limiting its competence. However, the practical effect of this jurisdiction is curtailed by the first of the principles outlined in the lotus case the jurisdiction to enforce. The territorial exclusiveness of the jurisdiction to enforce is one of the most important principles of international law.
