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In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Reunion (#81), Worf kills Duras in retribution for killing his mate. Far from a clandestine operation, his behavior is discussed with Picard who informs him that a formal reprimand will be placed on his record.

This punishment seems disproportionately low compared to the crime. Is there some logical explanation for how a Starfleet officer can murder someone from another race in the line of duty and not be guilty of murder?

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Todd D
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    The prime directive? The Klingons aren't members of the Federation (http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/91340/did-the-klingons-join-the-federation). Perhaps due to that Picard has to be more conservative in the punishment. – Lan Jan 11 '17 at 15:10
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    The Federation respect the laws of other cultures. It's not murder if they don't think it's murder. – Valorum Jan 11 '17 at 15:10
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    That it happened on a Klingon ship was also important. If the killing happened in Federation jurisdiction, it would have to be prosecuted accordingly. But that raises the question -- why did Picard reprimand Worf at all? Couldn't Worf had said, "I'm a Starfleet officer, but I can do whatever I want that's legal, when I'm off duty."? – Ben Osborne Jan 11 '17 at 15:14
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    @BenOsborne: It could be the UFP's way of avoiding to appear as totally impartial, or even supporting, of the Klingon legal situation, while also acknowledging it's not really within the UFP's jurisdiction. It may be somewhat reminiscent of the situation in our times where citizens of country A can be prosecuted (or there are at least discussions for adapting laws accordingly) for doing something in country B that is legal in B, but not only illegal, but also publicly strongly discouraged in A. Think child marriages, abortions, attending training facilities for subversive organisations, etc. – O. R. Mapper Jan 11 '17 at 20:02
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    @BenOsborne There are similar situations in our own world. If you are abroad and do something that isn't legal in your home country, you usually can't be prosecuted. If on the other hand, you are a police officer or in the military in a command position, such things can definitely influence your career. Starfleet officers are in similar "positions of authority". (: unless the crime was illegal in that country as well and they issued an extradition request, or some other exceptional case) – Jasper Jan 13 '17 at 14:35
  • A point not otherwise noted: In order to go to the Klingon ship and kill Duras, Worf had to first abandon his post - and that certainly warrants at least a reprimand. – PMar May 08 '19 at 12:39

2 Answers2

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In that episode, Picard clearly acknowledges that what Worf did was legal under Klingon law.

PICARD: Mister Worf, your service aboard the Enterprise has been exemplary. Until now.

WORF: Sir, I have acted within the boundaries of Klingon law and tradition.

PICARD: The High Council would seem to agree. They consider the matter closed. I don't. Mister Worf, the Enterprise crew currently includes representatives from thirteen planets. They each have their individual beliefs and values and I respect them all. But they have all chosen to serve Starfleet. If anyone cannot perform his or her duty because of the demands of their society, they should resign. Do you wish to resign?

WORF: No, sir.

PICARD: I had hoped you would not throw away a promising career. I understand your loss, We all admired K'Ehleyr. A reprimand will appear on your record. Dismissed....

from Episode 81 ("Reunion") transcript at chakoteya.net.

It's explicitly not murder as Klingon law provides provisions for when revenge killing is lawful. As @Valorum states, there is probably some level of mutual respect on the part of the Federation toward Klingon culture that tempers the reaction significantly. In this case, Worf is not a fleeing international criminal or a fugitive from Klingon justice, just someone with a little need for further cultural assimilation.

In RL, there is the concept of double criminality which applies to extradition law and (I believe) immigration law as well. In a nutshell, it means that one country will consider someone from another country to be a criminal only if what that person did in the other country was illegal under the laws of both countries. So if a cocaine dealer from the UK goes to the USA, he is a criminal from the perspective of the USA.

In response to @BenOsborne 's question and @KyleStrand 's comment about why Picard did anything at all, there is a military law concept of "Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman" that is often an offense that is punishable but that is less serious than murder. In today's US military, "Conduct Unbecoming" may consist of (among other things)

...action or behavior in an unofficial or private capacity which, in dishonoring or disgracing the officer personally, seriously compromises the person’s standing as an officer; an officer’s conduct need not violate other provisions of the UCMJ or even be otherwise criminal to violate Article 133, UCMJ; the gravamen of the offense is that the officer’s conduct disgraces him personally or brings dishonor to the military profession such as to affect his fitness to command the obedience of his subordinates so as to successfully complete the military mission.

Source: Digest of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (emphasis mine)

A revenge killing, even if legal in the jurisdiction in which it was done, could be seen as "dishonorable" to Worf in terms of his Starfleet career, and Picard even says so. The behavior impacts his career and how others perceive him in Starfleet. Here's the conflict of cultures inherent in Worf's position as a Klingon and a Starfleet officer - behavior that is allowed in one context is condemned in the other. Picard detects this and asks Worf how he proposes to handle it.

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Robert Columbia
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    At the least there surely must be a Morality Clause for officers. I can think of two real-world scandals (one with DEA agents and one with Secret Service) where people got in trouble for soliciting legal prostitution. As for jurisdiction, in the real world, US companies that break certain US laws but only in foreign countries can be held accountable for such by US authorities. – Yorik Jan 11 '17 at 18:47
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    Could you address Ben Osborne's comment on the original question, "why did Picard reprimand Worf at all?" It sounds like Picard is implying that the killing was in some way a dereliction of Worf's duty as a Starfleet officer, despite it being legal and occurring on a Klingon vessel. – Kyle Strand Jan 11 '17 at 18:58
  • @KyleStrand sure, I just responded. – Robert Columbia Jan 11 '17 at 19:19
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    So basically while legal, it was Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer – Michael M Jan 11 '17 at 20:59
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    The reprimand may also have been simply for leaving the ship without permission. – aleppke Jan 11 '17 at 23:30
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    @MikeMügge more specifically, it was mildly illegal because it was Conduct Unbecoming an Officer. A Federation civilian presumably would have faced no penalties. Conduct Unbecoming is intentionally a broad, vague, and socially defined offense that basically says don't piss us off. – Robert Columbia Jan 11 '17 at 23:34
  • @RobertColumbia: what do you mean by: "vague ... socially defined offense"? Are you implying that the phrase "Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer" is not in fact a real, and specifically defined (un-vague) term used in real life naval law ? – Michael M Jan 12 '17 at 00:09
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    @MikeMügge not at all, I'm saying that what constitutes Conduct Unbecoming is not as nearly well defined in a formal sense as most other offenses. – Robert Columbia Jan 12 '17 at 00:30
  • @RobertColumbia what constitutes CUOAO is formally defined in U.S. law as constituting dishonest acts, displays of indecency, lawlessness, dealing unfairly, indecorum, injustice, or acts of cruelty.. Officially, IRL, under U.S. law it so illegal in fact, that a case of killing (note, I not using the word "murder"), is un-vaguely CUOAO and therefore categorically illegal – Michael M Jan 12 '17 at 00:53
  • "Worf is [..] just someone with a little need for further cultural assimilation." That's a little biased, isn't it? Why isn't Picard the one who needs further cultural assimilation? He himself admits that he needs to respect the various cultures represented on the ship. Or is Earth culture the "one true culture"? Klingon culture is "wrong"? – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 12 '17 at 12:26
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit Part of the reason might be because It's Worf who joined Human starfleet, so it's expected of him to assimilate into the place he joined, not the other way 'round. – Maurycy Jan 12 '17 at 14:59
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    @Maurycy: Starfleet isn't human. There are many societies in the Federation. Granted, perhaps none of them share the Klingons' values. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 12 '17 at 15:20
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit for once, the federation charter explicity states the dignity and rights of individual life forms. Thus killing is likely not considered a lawful act for any federation citizen on federation territory. Since Worf wasn't on federation territory (the klingon ship) he cannot be charged with the killing, since it was legal according to klingon law, but he can very well recieve a reprimand as a Star Fleet officer not behaving according to the virtues of the federation charter. – Adwaenyth Jan 12 '17 at 16:01
  • @Adwaenyth: Mmm, yeah okay. Sold. – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 12 '17 at 16:16
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    @MichaelMügge I think he means that while it is written formally in a document, it isn't something that is restricted into a very specific category so much as other rules in naval law. Unlike "disobeying an officer in your chain of command" being incredibly specific and blatant on what it means, CUOAO is not restricted soley to its outlined description nor must it always be those things. It's something determined more by context and judgement and (considering we are talking about non-human cultures) by the customs of a culture and what they consider to be honorable and worthy of authority. – user64742 Jan 13 '17 at 03:37
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    @LightnessRacesinOrbit :: Classic case of the white man holding the Klingon down. Then again, its my understanding, according to the episode A Matter of Honor that everyone is expected to "assimilate", more or less to whatever the species the captain is. – Michael M Jan 13 '17 at 18:21
  • @MichaelMügge: Aha! – Lightness Races in Orbit Jan 13 '17 at 18:26
  • TL;DR - there is a distinction between legal and ethical. Revenge killing in that context may be legal, but the Captain personally holds his crew to a higher standard of ethics. – Brandon May 08 '19 at 16:41
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To piggyback on Robert Columbia's excellent answer, it's important to note that the crime occurred on the Klingon ship, and therefore likely under Klingon jurisdiction:

RIKER: Riker to Lieutenant Worf. Computer, locate Lieutenant Worf.

COMPUTER: Lieutenant Worf is not aboard the Enterprise.

PICARD: Where is he?

COMPUTER: Lieutenant Worf transported to the Klingon ship Vorn at seventeen thirty hours.

So regardless of whether Starfleet was inclined to accept Klingon cultural practices as lawful or not, it's not entirely clear that could have charged Worf if they wanted to, just as the German government can't punish me for murders in Baghdad.

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TenthJustice
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    err .... what happened in Baghdad? –  Jan 11 '17 at 22:32
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    @DarkHeart - If he tells you ... well ... you'd better not go to Baghdad yourself. – T.E.D. Jan 11 '17 at 23:29
  • Of course a German judge can convict you for murder in a different country though the judicial system would first seek recurses of higher priority, e. g. an extradition to that country (provided there's no compelling reason against extradition like a German citizenship or a (pending) claim to asylum in Germany). – David Foerster Jan 12 '17 at 11:30
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    For instance if I, a German citizen, committed a crime abroad that is considered a crime in Germany too and returned home before my arrest and if a German prosecutor responsible for my legal district finds out about it and issues an indictment, likely I would be tried for the crime at home. There have been similar cases in the past. – David Foerster Jan 12 '17 at 11:39
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    @David Foerster: While this is true, it fully depends on the crime being considered a crime in the foreign country, too. If someone – even a German citizen – killed someone else in the foreign country of Klingonia, where there exists a prosecution system (German legalese: der Tatort unterliegt einer Strafgewalt) but this particular act of killing is considered legal even though it wouldn’t be in Germany, they could not be persecuted in Germany. (There is a catalogue of exceptions where the foreign law doesn’t matter, such as slave trade or high treason; but ‘usual’ murder isn’t among them.) – chirlu Jan 12 '17 at 13:32
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    A better analogy might be smoking weed somewhere it's legal to do it, before going back 'home' where it isn't. – Sobrique Jan 12 '17 at 13:49
  • @Sobrique great point. There are tour companies in the USA (and probably, everywhere) that advertise short trips to the Netherlands using stereotypical "weed" imagery and the government here doesn't have any specific legal means to stop them. – Robert Columbia Jan 12 '17 at 15:05
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    Indeed. But you might also find that an employer might be a bit disapproving if you fail a drugs test, despite it not being illegal :) – Sobrique Jan 12 '17 at 15:06
  • @chirlu: That's correct and I didn't know that. § 5 StGB lists all cases in which the German penal code applies to crimes committed abroad and, curiously, homicide is not included except in the case of an illegal abortion of a pregnancy (i. e. German women can't legally abort a pregnancy abroad that would be illegal at home). Since they were mentioned in different comments: narcotic-related crimes aren't included either. – David Foerster Jan 12 '17 at 17:41
  • @RobertColumbia actually if you were driving a car and they believed you were under the influence of drugs (or just happened to pull you off the road randomly and test you) and you failed a drug test performed by police you would be charged with taking an illegal substance and being under the influence as the drug stays in your system for a very long time and so as we cannot determine when or when not it was taken we would immediately assume you broke the law. You would have to prove you took it over seas. – user64742 Jan 13 '17 at 03:41