extraterritoriality

[ ek-struh-ter-i-tawr-ee-al-i-tee ]

noun
  1. immunity from the jurisdiction of a nation, granted to foreign diplomatic officials, foreign warships, etc.

  2. the applicability or exercise of a sovereign's laws outside its territory.

Origin of extraterritoriality

1
First recorded in 1830–40; extra- + territoriality
  • Also ex·ter·ri·to·ri·al·i·ty [eks-ter-i-tawr-ee-al-i-tee] /ˈɛksˌtɛr ɪˌtɔr iˈæl ɪ ti/ .

Words Nearby extraterritoriality

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use extraterritoriality in a sentence

  • "It certainly would impair, shall we say, the principle of extraterritoriality of Embassies," Stonehenge picked it up.

    Lone Star Planet | Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire
  • extraterritoriality placed Westerners in China solely under the jurisdiction of their respective national representatives.

    Government in Republican China | Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger

British Dictionary definitions for extraterritoriality

extraterritoriality

/ (ˌɛkstrəˌtɛrɪˌtɔːrɪˈælɪtɪ) /


nouninternational law
  1. the privilege granted to some aliens, esp diplomats, of being exempt from the jurisdiction of the state in which they reside

  2. the right or privilege of a state to exercise authority in certain circumstances beyond the limits of its territory

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012