This importantly doesn’t equate to endorsing his controversial logic, which observers should in any case try to understand even if they disagree with it since his rationale aligns with Polish state interests.
1. The question of jurisdiction over international waters is irrelevant. A more pertinent question is the ownership of the infrastructure on or under international waters.
2. Szijjarto is correct, Lubowski’s argument allows for blowing up European pipelines and port terminals carrying gas and oil from Russia. According to Google: "By July 2025, the EU remained the largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas (35%) and LNG (51%)". This would make for a quite potent fireworks.
Since when was law applied consistently on friends and enemies alike?
Were a Ukrainian to be accused of blowing up critical polish infrastructure and then flee to germany, poles howl in outrage, were a german judge to use identical logic.
Rather, there are pets, to whom everything is permitted, and enemies, who can do no right.
1) Germany does not have jurisdiction over international waters, however she has jurisdiction over her objects floating in the international waters
2) One may also give the Judge credit for being independent vis-à-vis his state's policies, in which case he might think that the presumed defendant is only a scapegoat. Allowing his extradition might put the search for the real defendants on a wrong path.
Looking for individuals like this one to do, or participate in, a job requiring complex military means is laughable. I can think of a recent case where a defendant of mark is not condemned for the real crime, but for some rather esoteric one, but condemned nonetheless !
Allowing his extradition would have put the search for real defendants back onto the right path. He would have been acquitted, and the investigation would have had a chance to move on. By thwarting extradition it gave the Germans the excuse they needed to throw up their hands and stop any attempt at all.
I do not think for a moment that trying this supposed defendant in Germany would have put the search on the right path. Personally, I trust a Polish judge several times over what I would trust a German one. The Germans, at all levels of their State, are submitted to their master across the Atlantic at levels few of us would imagine possible. Occupied for over 80 years, “denazified”, i.e. told how to behave with the master, the Germans of the West Germany are not a people like one would expect given their level of historical and cultural achievements. Just imagine the scene in which Biden summons Scholz in the White House, ALONE, without any government members, and talks to him between 4 eyes. We do not know how many more eyes were there, in the Oval Office ! How many scenes of this kind do we know to have happened in the history of Mankind ? This is an opportunity of Shakespearian proportions for the world to see and understand this relationship.
Furthermore, when they need an excuse, the Germans do not wait for anybody to give it to them. On the other hand, the Russians will never go to sleep on this one. We will see it as soon as the Special Military Operation is over.
You miss the point, although I agree with your scorn for the current German state. What happened here, though, was that German prosecutors were (supposedly) trying to get to the bottom of things. The Polish action was their excuse to give that up entirely.
The actual Polish court’s decision was abject. Nothing there to trust at all, if what you’re looking for is a semblance of law.
Poland and Judge Lubowski are undermining European law and order will harvest the dividends of their act. It is only a question of time. All Baltic state have interest in the security of that area and it was a dumb thing from Poland not to enforce the issue just because it was Russia who was victimized.
The verdict is yet another manifestation of Poland's rampant russophobia and subservience to Ukraine. It is also an example of whitewashing the Americans who are the principal culprits in Nord Stream debacle. Ukrainians, if they blow it up, which by no means certain, would not have done it without green light from CIA.
You mistake "rationalization" for "rationale." Most of what the judge did, as you describe, is little more than the scrambling of a cockroach to avoid the light. The argument regarding Germany's jurisdiction over its property in international waters forms an interesting contrast to EU howling about possible Russian sabotage of optic cables in international waters.
You should just admit that the Polish court acted lawlessly and the EU has, once again, endorsed lawlessness.
Perhaps the Law of the Sea would suggest the "jurisdiction" that might apply.
The basic law says that a vessel abandoned with clear intention to return remains the property of the owner. This would include, certainly, a ship abandoned temporarily but at anchor. It would only take one further step to extend this logic to a permanently anchored submerged object. In the case of a pipeline, periodically maintaining it would establish attendance of it.
This would seem to give the owner of the object jurisdiction over it in the event that his ownership rights were violated by damage or destruction. The fact that it happens to be in international waters would not matter.
Those Ukrainians almost inadvertently helped Putin win!?! That’s why any military force must come from a chain of command to be just because otherwise it is terrorism. But the reality is Nord Stream 1 and 2 are now worthless and were worthless when the sabotage operation was conducted…and so how do you punish someone for destroying something of zero value?? And Putin is responsible for making the pipelines worthless with his asinine invasion of Ukraine when the EU was more than willing to tens of billions of euros while slowly confiscating territory in less bloody operations.
Btw, one must ask ponder what bigger geopolitical forces are at work here?? The obvious answer is we are transitioning from the Age of Oil and to the Age of Natural Gas and thus LNG will be the most important commodity. Russia and Saudi Arabia are slowly coming to terms with being behind the curve as the global economy transitions to a world in which Qatar and America control the most important commodity market. And Trump and Kushner get a lot of credit in placating Qatar after Netanyahu’s reckless strike in Doha.
" “Blowing up of critical infrastructure…during a just, defensive war…is not sabotage, but rather military actions… "
Hear that Iran, Syria, Yemen, Iraq ?
" Moreover, the independence cause that some of his compatriots intermittently fought for during Poland’s 123-year-long erasure from the map involved some acts that could be described as terrorism "
As would most of the colonists actions during the US revolutionary war.
Donald Tusk has a bit of pro German in him just like his grandfather. I remember a photo of him in a convertable riding along side NAZI's. He & his grandfather look so much alike.
This "suspect" simply could NOT have been involved. It has been established that it was virtually impossible for anyone but the US to engineer this complex project on the seabed. Nobody has refuted Seymour Hersh's article. This is simply another canard to avoid the truth that the German government is protecting its imperialist master in Washington.
1. The question of jurisdiction over international waters is irrelevant. A more pertinent question is the ownership of the infrastructure on or under international waters.
2. Szijjarto is correct, Lubowski’s argument allows for blowing up European pipelines and port terminals carrying gas and oil from Russia. According to Google: "By July 2025, the EU remained the largest buyer of Russian pipeline gas (35%) and LNG (51%)". This would make for a quite potent fireworks.
I can't see how this judge can't see how this is going to backfire badly.
It sets a precedent for the next act of sabotage, possibly from a vindictive adversary, to use the same rationale.
Since when was law applied consistently on friends and enemies alike?
Were a Ukrainian to be accused of blowing up critical polish infrastructure and then flee to germany, poles howl in outrage, were a german judge to use identical logic.
Rather, there are pets, to whom everything is permitted, and enemies, who can do no right.
1) Germany does not have jurisdiction over international waters, however she has jurisdiction over her objects floating in the international waters
2) One may also give the Judge credit for being independent vis-à-vis his state's policies, in which case he might think that the presumed defendant is only a scapegoat. Allowing his extradition might put the search for the real defendants on a wrong path.
Looking for individuals like this one to do, or participate in, a job requiring complex military means is laughable. I can think of a recent case where a defendant of mark is not condemned for the real crime, but for some rather esoteric one, but condemned nonetheless !
Allowing his extradition would have put the search for real defendants back onto the right path. He would have been acquitted, and the investigation would have had a chance to move on. By thwarting extradition it gave the Germans the excuse they needed to throw up their hands and stop any attempt at all.
I do not think for a moment that trying this supposed defendant in Germany would have put the search on the right path. Personally, I trust a Polish judge several times over what I would trust a German one. The Germans, at all levels of their State, are submitted to their master across the Atlantic at levels few of us would imagine possible. Occupied for over 80 years, “denazified”, i.e. told how to behave with the master, the Germans of the West Germany are not a people like one would expect given their level of historical and cultural achievements. Just imagine the scene in which Biden summons Scholz in the White House, ALONE, without any government members, and talks to him between 4 eyes. We do not know how many more eyes were there, in the Oval Office ! How many scenes of this kind do we know to have happened in the history of Mankind ? This is an opportunity of Shakespearian proportions for the world to see and understand this relationship.
Furthermore, when they need an excuse, the Germans do not wait for anybody to give it to them. On the other hand, the Russians will never go to sleep on this one. We will see it as soon as the Special Military Operation is over.
You miss the point, although I agree with your scorn for the current German state. What happened here, though, was that German prosecutors were (supposedly) trying to get to the bottom of things. The Polish action was their excuse to give that up entirely.
The actual Polish court’s decision was abject. Nothing there to trust at all, if what you’re looking for is a semblance of law.
Poles are the most subservient to the United States of just about any people out there.
Poland and Judge Lubowski are undermining European law and order will harvest the dividends of their act. It is only a question of time. All Baltic state have interest in the security of that area and it was a dumb thing from Poland not to enforce the issue just because it was Russia who was victimized.
A beggar country can't become a great power.
Israel begs to differ.
The verdict is yet another manifestation of Poland's rampant russophobia and subservience to Ukraine. It is also an example of whitewashing the Americans who are the principal culprits in Nord Stream debacle. Ukrainians, if they blow it up, which by no means certain, would not have done it without green light from CIA.
You mistake "rationalization" for "rationale." Most of what the judge did, as you describe, is little more than the scrambling of a cockroach to avoid the light. The argument regarding Germany's jurisdiction over its property in international waters forms an interesting contrast to EU howling about possible Russian sabotage of optic cables in international waters.
You should just admit that the Polish court acted lawlessly and the EU has, once again, endorsed lawlessness.
I think the Polish were involved with the US, in blowing up the pipeline. Which might also make them reluctant to extradite anyone.
Perhaps the Law of the Sea would suggest the "jurisdiction" that might apply.
The basic law says that a vessel abandoned with clear intention to return remains the property of the owner. This would include, certainly, a ship abandoned temporarily but at anchor. It would only take one further step to extend this logic to a permanently anchored submerged object. In the case of a pipeline, periodically maintaining it would establish attendance of it.
This would seem to give the owner of the object jurisdiction over it in the event that his ownership rights were violated by damage or destruction. The fact that it happens to be in international waters would not matter.
Those Ukrainians almost inadvertently helped Putin win!?! That’s why any military force must come from a chain of command to be just because otherwise it is terrorism. But the reality is Nord Stream 1 and 2 are now worthless and were worthless when the sabotage operation was conducted…and so how do you punish someone for destroying something of zero value?? And Putin is responsible for making the pipelines worthless with his asinine invasion of Ukraine when the EU was more than willing to tens of billions of euros while slowly confiscating territory in less bloody operations.
Btw, one must ask ponder what bigger geopolitical forces are at work here?? The obvious answer is we are transitioning from the Age of Oil and to the Age of Natural Gas and thus LNG will be the most important commodity. Russia and Saudi Arabia are slowly coming to terms with being behind the curve as the global economy transitions to a world in which Qatar and America control the most important commodity market. And Trump and Kushner get a lot of credit in placating Qatar after Netanyahu’s reckless strike in Doha.
" “Blowing up of critical infrastructure…during a just, defensive war…is not sabotage, but rather military actions… "
Hear that Iran, Syria, Yemen, Iraq ?
" Moreover, the independence cause that some of his compatriots intermittently fought for during Poland’s 123-year-long erasure from the map involved some acts that could be described as terrorism "
As would most of the colonists actions during the US revolutionary war.
It is scandalous what Poland is doing!
But it does not surprise us Germans!
... because of the great power...
Donald Tusk has a bit of pro German in him just like his grandfather. I remember a photo of him in a convertable riding along side NAZI's. He & his grandfather look so much alike.
This "suspect" simply could NOT have been involved. It has been established that it was virtually impossible for anyone but the US to engineer this complex project on the seabed. Nobody has refuted Seymour Hersh's article. This is simply another canard to avoid the truth that the German government is protecting its imperialist master in Washington.
西伯利亚力量2号天然气管道蒙古段，将成为新目标。