Been wondering, if for example you committed a crime in Antartica, what would happen to you? Are you going to be deported back to your country or serve jail time in Antartica?
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Depends on where you’re from.
For example, The Antarctic Act 1994 extends the laws of every part of the United Kingdom to UK nationals in Antarctica. Additionally, the Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory may enact laws for the territory.
Americans have The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 (enacted 12 October 1984) which covers crimes committed by Americans or crimes committed against Americans. Any American who is outside of the United States, but not in another country, is still subject to certain U.S. laws. All Americans committing a crime, and any foreigner committing a crime against an American outside of a sovereign state, are subject to prosecution in a U.S. federal court. This includes international waters and Antarctica. Although nations claim territory in Antarctica, the United States does not recognize these claims.
This theory was tested not too long ago in 2018 when a stabbing occurred at the Bellingshausen Station, a Russian research station on King George Island. The perpetrator was Sergey Savitsky who stabbed Oleg Beloguzov. Savitsky surrendered to the manager of the station and, 11 days later, was placed on a flight back to Russia where he was placed on house arrest. February 8th, 2019, Savitsky was at a preliminary hearing at the Vasileostrov District Court of Saint Petersburg. Savitsky was remorseful and was willing to accept a criminal punishment rather than rehabilitation. Beloguzov was forgiving of Savitsky and proposed dropping the case. The public prosecutor was supportive of Beloguzov’s proposal, and noted that Savitsky was remorseful and had no prior criminal record. Judge Anatoly Kovin decided to drop the case.
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