Dominique E Martin1, Kristof Van Assche, Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, Marta López-Fraga, Debra Budiani-Saberi, Jacob Lavee, Annika Tibell, Farhat Moazam, Elmi Muller, Gabriel M Danovitch, Igor Codreanu, Saraladevi Naicker, Mona Al Rukhaimi, Sheelagh McGuinness, Mohamed A Bakr, Monir Moniruzzaman, Alexander M Capron, Francis L Delmonico. 1. 1 Centre for Health Equity, the University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.2 Bioethics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.3 Organización Nacional de Trasplantes, Madrid, Spain.4 European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.5 Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions, Washington, DC.6 Sheba Medical Center and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.7 Centre for Healthcare Ethics (CHE), Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (LIME), Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.8 Center of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, SIUT, Pakistan.9 University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.10 David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.11 Transplant Agency of Moldova, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.12 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.13 Dubai Medical College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.14 University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.15 Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.16 Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.17 Pacific Center for Health Policy and Ethics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.18 Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Many nations are able to prosecute transplant-related crimes committed in their territory, but transplant recipients, organ sellers and brokers, and transplant professionals may escape prosecution by engaging in these practices in foreign locations where they judge the risk of criminal investigation and prosecution to be remote. METHODS: The Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group convened an international working group to evaluate the possible role of extraterritorial jurisdiction in strengthening the enforcement of existing laws governing transplant-related crimes across national boundaries. Potential practical and ethical concerns about the use of extraterritorial jurisdiction were examined, and possible responses were explored. RESULTS: Extraterritorial jurisdiction is a legitimate tool to combat transplant-related crimes. Further, development of a global registry of transnational transplant activities in conjunction with a standardized international referral system for legitimate travel for transplantation is proposed as a mechanism to support enforcement of national and international legal tools. CONCLUSIONS: States are encouraged to include provisions on extraterritorial jurisdiction in their laws on transplant-related crimes and to collaborate with professionals and international authorities in the development of a global registry of transnational transplant activities. These actions would assist in the identification and evaluation of illicit activities and provide information that would help in developing strategies to deter and prevent them.
BACKGROUND: Many nations are able to prosecute transplant-related crimes committed in their territory, but transplant recipients, organ sellers and brokers, and transplant professionals may escape prosecution by engaging in these practices in foreign locations where they judge the risk of criminal investigation and prosecution to be remote. METHODS: The Declaration of Istanbul Custodian Group convened an international working group to evaluate the possible role of extraterritorial jurisdiction in strengthening the enforcement of existing laws governing transplant-related crimes across national boundaries. Potential practical and ethical concerns about the use of extraterritorial jurisdiction were examined, and possible responses were explored. RESULTS: Extraterritorial jurisdiction is a legitimate tool to combat transplant-related crimes. Further, development of a global registry of transnational transplant activities in conjunction with a standardized international referral system for legitimate travel for transplantation is proposed as a mechanism to support enforcement of national and international legal tools. CONCLUSIONS: States are encouraged to include provisions on extraterritorial jurisdiction in their laws on transplant-related crimes and to collaborate with professionals and international authorities in the development of a global registry of transnational transplant activities. These actions would assist in the identification and evaluation of illicit activities and provide information that would help in developing strategies to deter and prevent them.
Authors: Ellen Shukhman; Julia Hunt; Dianne LaPointe-Rudow; Didier Mandelbrot; Rebecca E Hays; Vineeta Kumar; Heidi Schaefer; Fawaz Al Ammary; Macey L Henderson; Angie Nishio-Lucar; Matthew Cooper; Krista L Lentine Journal: Clin Transplant Date: 2020-02-29 Impact factor: 2.863