Union Jurisdiction over Extraterritorial Territories by Agreement
Official heading: “Jurisdiction of the Union in relation to territories outside India”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XI, Article 260, printed page 154
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Empowers the Government of India to accept and exercise executive, legislative, and judicial functions over foreign territories pursuant to international agreements.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 260 enables the Government of India to enter into agreements with foreign governments to undertake executive, legislative, or judicial jurisdiction over their territories.
Every such agreement is governed by and subject to any parliamentary laws relating to the exercise of foreign jurisdiction (such as the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1947).
Historically, this provision allowed India to administer territories before their formal constitutional incorporation into the Indian Union (such as Pondicherry or Sikkim during transitional phases).
3. Practical Illustrative Example
India enters into an international treaty with a neighboring government to administer a shared cross-border enclave or transitional zone.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 260 provides constitutional authority for extraterritorial governance under treaty arrangements.
- Agreement-based: Requires a valid international agreement with the government of the foreign territory.
- Tripartite jurisdiction: Extends to executive, legislative, and judicial governance functions.
- Parliamentary control: Subordinated to parliamentary laws regulating foreign jurisdiction.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XI, Article 260, printed page 154 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.