Abstract

This study examines the capacity of the territoriality principle of criminal law to determine jurisdiction over cybercrimes, given their cross-border nature and the difficulty of locating the place of their commission. The subject is addressed through a twofold approach: first, the criteria governing the application of the territoriality principle in determining jurisdiction, as drawn from the jurisdictional rules of the Moroccan Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 22 of the Budapest Convention, and Moroccan and French case law; and second, the limits of the territorial scope of criminal legislation and the conflicts of jurisdiction that arise when the material elements of an offence are spread across several States. The study concludes that the limitations of the territoriality principle in the face of cybercrime do not call for its abandonment, but rather for a more flexible application supported by mechanisms of international judicial cooperation, so as to reconcile State sovereignty over its territory with the requirements of combating cross-border digital crime.

Keywords

Territoriality Principle; Jurisdiction; Cybercrime; Conflict of Jurisdiction; Budapest Convention; International Judicial Cooperation.