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Violence at International Airports (18 U.S.C.
§ 37)
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Section 37 of Title 18, United States Code, implements the
Protocol to the
Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against
the Safety of
Civil Aviation. The international Protocol was developed in
response to the Rome
and Vienna airport massacres by terrorists in 1985. Section 37,
which became
effective on November 18, 1994, makes it a Federal crime, using any
device,
substance or weapon, to intentionally perform an act of violence
against any
person at an airport serving international aviation or to destroy
or seriously
damage the facilities of such an airport. Initially, § 37 was
applicable only
when the prohibited activity occurred within the United States or
the perpetrator
of the prohibited activity overseas was subsequently found in the
United States.
On April 24, 1996, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act of 1996
expanded its extraterritorial jurisdiction to also cover the
prohibited activity
occurring overseas when either a national of the United States is
a victim or a
perpetrator of the offense. See Pub. L. 104-132, §
721(g), 110 Stat.
1214, 1299.
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