Human rights, extraterritoriality and the good international citizen: a cosmopolitan perspective

Abstract

This article revisits the possibilities of the good international citizen (GIC) as a civilising agent in international society. It argues that an underdeveloped resource for thinking about state responsibilities as GIC is the idea of cosmopolitan extraterritoriality (ET) in relation to human rights. ET, the assertion of jurisdiction beyond territorial borders, has long been associated with statist and nationalist purposes; however, a significant cosmopolitan, and civilising, potential can be found within practices of ET in relation to human rights and certain aspects of criminal law such as in the practices of child sex tourism and trafficking. This form of ET allows states to restrain their own citizens abroad and potentially restrain their own foreign policies and practices by accepting limits on their freedom of action derived from respect for human rights and respect for the rule of law.