The S.S.

Lotus case
(France v Turkey)
PCIJ 1927

In 1926, a French steamboat, the S.S.

Lotus, collided with a Turkish steamboat,

the Botz-Kourt. This resulted in the sinking
of the Turkish boat and the death of eight
Turkish nationals.
Turkish authorities (plaintiffs) instituted
criminal proceedings against the French
officer on duty aboard the S.S. Lotus at the
time of the collision, Lieutenant Demons
(defendant)

Demons objected on the ground that Turkey had

no jurisdiction to bring charges. The Turkish court

overruled this objection and sentenced Demons to
a fine and imprisonment.
The French government challenged the Turkish
courts action as a violation of international law.
France claimed that only the state whose flag the
vessel flew had exclusive jurisdiction over the
matter
Issue: Does a rule of international law which
prohibits a state from exercising criminal
jurisdiction over a foreign national who commits
acts outside of the states national jurisdiction
exist?

The two countries submitted their dispute to

the Permanent Court of International Justice.

The Court, therefore, rejected France's
position stating that there was no rule to that
effect in international law.
The PCIJ basically found that since the two
ships were involved in the same accident, that
both countries had concurrent jurisdiction
over the accident
The PCIJ found that customary international
law gave France jurisdiction, but it didn't give
themexclusivejurisdiction

TheLotus Principlewas later overruled by

the1958 High Seas Convention.

Article 11(1)says that only the flag State or

the State of which the alleged offender was a

national has jurisdiction over sailors
regarding incidents occurring in high seas.