Worfs murderous rampages.

[Bad Thoughts]

^ Because he's a Klingon. That's all the reason they need.

And MacLeod correctly pointed out that Worf killed Duras on a Klingon vessel. Klingons, Worf included, can conduct their own affairs however they feel like - it's sovereign Klingon territory. So by what right did Data and Riker go over there in the first place?

(wonder if Worf could have asked Picard for maybe an hour's worth of shore leave so he could, technically, not be on duty when he killed Duras....and if that would have worked.)

No one in the Klingon empire could openly say anything about Worf killing Duras, because Duras made the mistake of murdering Worf's mate in an inhonorable way and giving Worf every right and duty to kill him.
To claim the lesser Starfleet rules overriding the ancient rite of blood revenge or whatever it's called would have been seen as dishonorable political shenanigans and be counterproductive to saving any claim of legitimacy to power which ultimately was more important to Duras' allies.

Exactly. The right of vengeance is vitally important to the Klingons - so much so that even discommendated Klingons may claim it (for loved ones, anyway - Duras only accepts Worf's challenge when Worf mentions that K'Ehleyr was his mate).

And would the new Klingon Governement file an objection over that fact that Worf had killed Gowron?

Since the Klingon government doesn't do anything without the Chancellor's say-so...and the Chancellor happens to be Martok, whom Worf put there...I would guess not.

There's a good chance the meeting room was Klingon diplomatic space akin to an embassy. Not being Bajoran/Federation space, it fulfilled one of Siskos primary objections.

Who cares what 'space' it's in? Like I said, all of the situations being discussed here involved only Klingons, were consensual among said Klingons, and were carried out under Klingon law. Therefore, it only matters what Klingons think of them.

Funny how this matters to you now.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

^ And he did. In what way is it a violation of Federation law for Worf to *observe* Klingon law? I hate to keep bringing this up, but in all of these instances, only Klingons were involved.

If the Federation has so little regard for the cultures and laws of the individual races in it (and of its allies), then that's a sad thing indeed.

Just because the United States respects the laws of other countries, it doesn't mean visitors get to apply their own drinking age or traffic regulations. Ethnicity doesn't matter - location does. If every species was allowed to bring their own laws onto the station, it would be completely impossible to govern.

What happened with Gowron was almost certainly considered an internal klingon matter of the highest order - even if the Klingons didn't have some kind of official diplomatic claim at that point, it would probably have been considered a terrible insult for the Federation to object. Not to mention bad for morale.

Yes location does matter, but lets examine location shall we

Kurn killed onboard a Klingon vessel, so definantly Klingon territory

Gowron was killed on DSN, which is Bajoran territory. So the question then becomes were those quarters considered Klingon territory. And would the new Klingon Governement file an objection over that fact that Worf had killed Gowron?

Location actually wasn't the best word choice. What matters is Jurisdiction.

Kurn wasn't killed, and the Kurn ceremony was in Worf's quarters on DS9 in Federation administered Bajoran territory. That's Federation/Bajoran jurisdiction and would have been a clear case of murder with no reason whatsoever for Sisko (or Odo) to take Klingon law into account. The fact that Worf wasn't arrested for attempted murder is already pretty high consideration.

Duras was killed on a Klingon vessel, and that is exactly the reason why Worf is never charged for his murder. This is Klingon jurisdiction.

That still does not mean Worf can't be held accountable for breaking his oath to Starfleet, however. No matter what jurisdiction he goes to, he remains a Starfleet officer liable to a Starfleet code of conduct. Leaving the Enterprise without permission, interfering in the political affairs of a foreign government, etc, are not acceptable.

Gowron was on DS9, so probably Federation/Bajoran jurisdiction, unless the Klingons had received a diplomatic concession for the duration of the war, in which case it would be Klingon jurisdiction.
However, this case is already far less clear. Starfleet can't fault Worf for 'interfering in a foreign govt.' here since Starfleet itself signed off on Worf being Martok's aide de camp, so Worf is now officially both Starfleet and Imperial Fleet. Also, any investigation into the incident would in and of itself be interfering with a foreign government, which is against Starfleet principles, unless the Klingons asked Starfleet to do so. Considering the Klingons embraced Martok as chancellor wholeheartedly and Worf is basically Martok's son, an investigation could even be seen as an insult to the Klingon Empire (at a time when the Federation couldn't afford any such thing). And it obviously doesn't hurt that Worf's actions probably saved the entire war effort - it makes it hard for anyone to hold it against him.

In the end, if there even was a legal reason to go after Worf for his actions against Gowron, it would at best be put off until after the war, by which time Worf was no longer in Starfleet or anywhere near DS9 and almost certainly had diplomatic immunity.

 

[Shada Dukal]

The discussion of venues is important because it determines the jurisdiction applicable if the perpetrator did not happen to be the first Klingon in Starfleet. In this sense, I don’t think that the Starfleet code of conduct was written and adopted with Klingons in mind. Although there were several Klingon/Human half-breeds serving on Starfleet vessels, Worf remains by and large a big exception so the assessment of his actions depends on the circumstances and the possible gains and losses.

No matter how unacceptable his action may look from Starfleet point of view, he was too much of a diplomatic asset to be wasted. In this sense, the Starfleet code of conduct seems to be displaced by more practical concerns. Captains’ judgment is based on the situation, what is at stake, the captain’s immediate priorities, and how does it affect the relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Having in mind these factors, captains may decide to huff and puff or to look the other way and sigh with relief when Worf’s rampages are beneficial for their ultimate goals. No hard and fast rules, I am afraid.

 

[Autistoid]

^ Because he's a Klingon. That's all the reason they need.

So besides entering Klingon Sovereign territory to assault someone you say is just following cultural norms, you are saying that Riker and Data are racists?

In tng Worf is a junior officer who despite his race is still on duty, with almost no legitmate connections to the empire.

When gowron is killed, worf is a liason with the empire.

He's a high ranking citizen due to being joined to the house of martok, this alone would give him intense diplomatic privlidges.

Keeping in mind he was doing his job in this case, smoothing out relations with the klingons in whatever ways coincide with klingon law, under direct order from the federation visavi Sisco.

After gowron has been killed, Worf could of easily been made a general in the empire by martok. It would be absolutely absurd for the federation to even try to go after such a valuable political asset.

There diplomatic immunity and there's being one of the most powerful men in the quadrant.

Honestly I really get annoyed how people don't acknowledge how powerful Worf became during the end of the war.

He started off just being a senior red shirt, to someone that even the federation president must literally bow down to.