international perjury
Under which country&#39;s law is perjury across borders adjudicated?
<p>E.g. If someone provides false testimony to a court in another country by letter, does he perjure himself?</p>

<p>If so,</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Will he be prosecuted according to the law of the country whose court requested the testimony? (In other words, whose oath is sworn, and whose penalty applies?)</p></li>
<li><p>Do precedent cases indicate effectiveness in the ratio of prosecutions over filed cases? (In other words, is groundless preemptive litigation high or low risk?)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>The general rule of geographical jurisdiction in criminal cases is that conduct is actionable in both the place where it occurs and the place it causes harm. This general rule would apply, for example, when a statement is made under oath or under penalty of perjury, without knowing where it will end up being used.</p>

<p>However, testimony in a particular court, or a statement that states that it made under the penalty of perjury and cites to the law of a particular country is actionable only in that courts of the jurisdiction of the court in which the statement was made, or in the courts of the jurisdiction referenced in the document.</p>

<p>By letter? No - telling lies is not perjury.</p>
<p>To commit <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perjury" rel="nofollow noreferrer">perjury</a> you must be under an oath or affirmation. In general, if a foreign jurisdiction is taking the affidavit then you would be subject to the relevant laws in both jurisdictions and either or both could take action against a false witness for perjury.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1900/20/part5/sec26" rel="nofollow noreferrer">s26(1)</a> of the NSW Oaths Act 1900 says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1)  Any oath declaration or affidavit required for the purpose of any court or tribunal or for the purpose of the registration of any instrument in this or any other State or Territory or the Commonwealth or for the purpose of any arbitration in this or any other State or Territory or the Commonwealth may be taken or made:</p>
<p>(a)  in any place in this State before any justice of the peace for this State, and</p>
<p><strong>(b)  in any country or place out of this State before a notary public, or before any person having authority to administer an oath in that country or place, and</strong></p>
<p>(c)  in any country or place out of this State before a British Consular Officer or an Australian Consular Officer exercising his or her functions in that country or place.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Giving false testimony to that &quot;person having authority to administer an oath in that country or place&quot; would be an offence under the NSW Act and (presumably) &quot;in that country or place.&quot;</p>

<p>If a person submits testimony to a count in writing, this is most often done via an affidavit, which is generally sworn or affirmed to be the truth before a notary, magistrate, or other official. It can also, in some cases be done by signing a document which includes the words "under penalty of perjury" or some similar phrase, particularly if there is a law requiring such a document to be truthful.  </p>

<p>If such written testimony or document is false in a material way, the country in which it was submitted to a court can, if it chooses to, prosecute this as perjury. (It may also be a contempt of court.)  There would the the problem of enforcing any criminal judgement, which is always present when a person is charged with a crime by a country where the accused is not present. One possibility is to have the accused extradited from the country where the accused is present. This requires the cooperation of the source country, often via a treaty. Another possibility in some countries is to try the accused <em>in absentia</em>, and then arrest or extradite the accused later, if it becomes possible. This is more likely to be done if the country that wants to prosecute cannot obtain the accused's extradition. </p>

<p>In addition, when a person falsely swears to or affirms under penalty of per4jury a document, knowing that it will be sent to a court, or used for legal purposes, in another country, that person probably commits perjury in the country where the document was sworn to or affirmed, depending on that country's laws. That country could choose to prosecute the person locally, rather than extraditing the person. </p>

<p>Generally perjury must be over a serious issue, or neither county will choose to prosecute. It can be hard to prove. But that says nothing about which country has the right to prosecute, only about whether those rights will be acted on. </p>
