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Contents Intoroduction Preliminaries Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Appendix Index

Article 22 Criminal Jurisdiction


In view of the unique and unprecedented nature of this particular international cooperation in space:
1. Canada, the European Partner States, Japan, Russia, and the United States may exercise criminal jurisdiction over personnel in or on any flight element who are their respective nationals.
2. In a case involving misconduct on orbit that:
(a) affects the life or safety of a national of another Partner State or
(b) occurs in or on or causes damage to the flight element of another Partner State, the Partner State whose national is the alleged perpetrator shall, at the request of any affected Partner State, consult with such State concerning their respective prosecutorial interests. An affected Partner State may, following such consultation, exercise criminal jurisdiction over the alleged perpetrator provided that, within 90 days of the date of such consultation or within such other period as may be mutually agreed, the Partner State whose national is the alleged perpetrator either:
(1) concurs in such exercise of criminal jurisdiction, or
(2) fails to provide assurances that it will submit the case to its competent authorities for the purpose of prosecution.
3. If a Partner State which makes extradition conditional on the existence of a treaty receives a request for extradition from another Partner State with which it has no extradition treaty, it may at its option consider this Agreement as the legal basis for extradition in respect of the alleged misconduct on orbit. Extradition shall be subject to the procedural provisions and the other conditions of the law of the requested Partner State.
4. Each Partner State shall, subject to its national laws and regulations, afford the other Partners assistance in connection with alleged misconduct on orbit.
5. This Article is not intended to limit the authorities and procedures for the maintenance of order and the conduct of crew activities in or on the Space Station which shall be established in the Code of Conduct pursuant to Article 11, and the Code of Conduct is not intended to limit the application of this Article.

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