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Comment by JumpCrisscross | Hacker News Reader

> what gives the US any jurisdiction to demand the arrest of a foreign executive on foreign territory, for acts committed on foreign territory

She violated American laws with American products using U.S. dollars for years. She then travelled to an American ally.

This is a stupid counter argument.

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Where does the US have jurisdiction? This is a legitimate question. What legal right does the US government have to enforce US laws on a foreigner who isn't in the US, for actions taken outside the US and which were not illegal in the country the person resides in? I'd legitimately like to know what sort of legal argument is used to justify this, because it sounds like a massive overreach by the United States. Regardless, arresting the CFO of a major corporation - the daughter of the CEO - in such a manner is an extremely aggressive act.

The US has a reciprocal agreement with Canada. These agreements are the basis for jurisdiction.

I always wonder how mutual these agreements are. Probably more like “Sign this agreement or else”.

I'm not just asking why Canada is handing over the Huawei CFO. I'm asking how the US has jurisdiction to even prosecute the supposed underlying crime. The connection of any of her actions to the United States is extremely tenuous and indirect. They occurred outside the United States, were legal in the country where they occurred, she doesn't work for an American company, she's not an American, and she wasn't even dealing with an American company. Just imagine what it would be like if every country began applying its domestic law extraterritorially in such an aggressive manner.

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