A person stands on one side of the New South Wales / Victoria border and discharges a firearm that fatally wounds a person on the other side.
Will the shooter be charged by New South Wales or Victoria Police? Which state's laws will apply?
This scenario raises the question of criminal geographical jurisdiction, a complex area of law that occasionally arises in criminal prosecutions.
Here's an outline of the rules.
What Is Jurisdiction?
In simple terms, ‘jurisdiction' is about having legal authority to do certain actions or make certain decisions.
Jurisdiction could be about the power to exercise power over actions in a certain areas (geographical jurisdiction) or the power to exercise power about certain topics (subject matter jurisdiction).
