Part VII United States-United Kingdom Issues, 23 Extraterritorial Application of US Law

Subject(s):

Banks and cross-border issues — Electronic money — Criminal proceedings — Money laundering — Conduct of business regulation

U.S. laws related to tainted money often create an impact beyond U.S. territory. This extraterritoriality occurs in two ways: firstly, formal extraterritoriality, meaning the direct application in a U.S. court of U.S. law to activities taking place partly or entirely outside of the U.S.; and, secondly, informal extraterritoriality, meaning indirect effects of U.S. law felt outside of the U.S. but without the application of any U.S. statute or the participation of any U.S. court. This chapter discusses both types of extraterritoriality. First, it presents the conditions of formal extraterritoriality by outlining the principles by which U.S. courts determine whether a particular U.S. statute applies outside the United States. Second, the chapter considers the elements of informal extraterritoriality by describing the types of extraterritorial effects U.S. law may have even when not directly applied to extraterritorial activities. Third, this chapter describes several specific U.S. laws that commonly have extraterritorial applications and/or effects. And finally, the chapter concludes with a brief analysis of extraterritorial applications of foreign law within the U.S. Although not specifically contemplated by the title of this chapter, this discussion pertains to the fundamental reciprocity analysis that governs formal extraterritoriality in the U.S.