3 ms·
IANAL, but I don't think so. See, for example, the famous R v. Dudley and Stephens case concerning cannibalism at sea [0]. The group was shipwrecked, surviving
by puzzledobserver 5y ago
IANAL, but I don't think so. See, for example, the famous R v. Dudley and Stephens case concerning cannibalism at sea [0].
The group was shipwrecked, surviving on a turtle and drinking their own urine. The victim, Richard Parker, was apparently in a coma. Despite these mitigating circumstances, the two defendants, Dudley and Stephens, were sentenced to six months each in prison.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Dudley_and_Stephens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Dudley_and_Stephens
- chana_masala 5y agoOnce I read the name Richard Parker it make me wonder if Life of Pi was somewhat inspired by the story, and indeed the article mentions such.
- dane-pgp 5y agoThat is a very thought-provoking case, but the article does say "the Mignonette was registered in Britain for jurisdiction under s.267 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1854" (and presumably that jurisdiction extended to the lifeboat too). My assumption is that even if the victim and defendants weren't British citizens (or subjects) the case would still have fallen under British jurisdiction, whereas if the same incident had occurred on a boat registered to a different nation, Britain would have to rely on the courts of that country to interpret their own laws on the matter. I suppose it's possible that another country could have in its laws a defence of necessity that was applicable to that precise situation, and I don't know how double-jeopardy rules and extradition treaties interact with the nationality or passive personality principles of personal jurisdiction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_jurisdiction#International_principles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_jurisdiction#Internat...