This book addresses maritime piracy by focusing on the unique and fascinating issues arising in the course of domestic piracy prosecutions, from the pursuit and apprehension of pirates to their trial and imprisonment. It examines novel matters not addressed in other published works, such as the challenges in preserving and presenting evidence in piracy trials, the rights of pirate defendants, and contending with alleged pirates who are juveniles. A more thorough understanding of modern piracy trials and the precedent they have established is critical to scholars, practitioners, and the broader community interested in counter-piracy efforts, as these prosecutions are likely to be the primary judicial mechanism to contend with pirate activity going forward.
This book addresses maritime piracy by focusing on the unique and fascinating issues arising in the course of domestic piracy prosecutions, from the pursuit and apprehension of pirates to their trial and imprisonment. It examines novel matters not addressed in other published works, such as the challenges in preserving and presenting evidence in piracy trials, the rights of pirate defendants, and contending with alleged pirates who are juveniles. A more thorough understanding of modern piracy trials and the precedent they have established is critical to scholars, practitioners, and the broader community interested in counter-piracy efforts, as these prosecutions are likely to be the primary judicial mechanism to contend with pirate activity going forward.
Over more than three decades starting in the 1990s, thousands of robberies, acts of piracy, and other violent attacks against merchant vessels have been reported in many of the world’s waters. The grave danger of piracy poses a direct threat not only to the security and efficiency of marine transportation, but more seriously, to the lives of the men and woman carrying out this important function. This book collates ideas brought up by seafarers, shipowners, industry practitioners, government officials, academics, and researchers exchanged views and insights on the complex web of underlying factors behind the phenomenon of piracy. Piracy at Sea brings together a wide spectrum of maritime stakeholders, who present different aspects of the problem in an open manner and share their thoughts on how to deal with a truly complex situation. It encapsulates this collective wisdom in a publication that can serve as an easy reference for practitioners as well as researchers, and hopefully contribute to more concrete action.
The twenty-first century has seen a sharp rise in privatization of the military, especially of logistics and security functions during the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The outbreak of Somali piracy that started in 2008 has prompted a similar revolution in maritime security. Private security companies began operating armed escort vessels to protect merchant shipping against pirates off the Horn of Africa. Private Anti-Piracy Navies is intended to provide a contextualized understanding of the historical origins, current state, and future prospects of this fast-changing sector. Centuries ago, the British East India Company used a private navy against piracy in the same waters with much success. Yet since then, international law has evolved to more tightly regulate the use of force by civilians, and to afford greater protections to suspected pirates. Thus, the development of what are in effect private warships has presented numerous legal and regulatory problems. How can the companies that operate these vessels be effectively licensed? Under what circumstances should they be allowed to use lethal force? This book explains how regulators in industry and government have attempted to answer such questions, and highlights the remaining areas of uncertainty. It also addresses the economic factors that drive the struggle between pirates and anti-piracy forces. Of equal concern are operational considerations such as defensive tactics, logistics, and rules of engagement. Security companies must carefully balance rights concerns against the need to defend ships effectively. Partly due to the contribution of private security, piracy in the Indian Ocean has dropped significantly over the past two years, leading to widespread overconfidence. Governments under severe budget pressure may withdraw their naval task forces from the region prematurely, leading to a resurgence of Somali piracy. At the same time, pirates are wreaking havoc in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa. The book concludes with an assessment of private naval forces’ prospects in these conflicts over the short term, as well as the implications for wider naval privatization in the long run.
Piracy is no longer an archaic problem. This analysis of the legal issues surrounding the repression of piracy and armed robbery at sea assesses whether the existing legal regime can effectively counter piracy in the modern age.
Duncan Gaswaga, a former judge of the Seychelles Supreme Court who has presided over numerous piracy trials, asked the following question: "What is a judge to do when a bearded piracy suspect facing justice asserts that he is fourteen?" This book addresses this important question by focusing on the treatment of juvenile piracy suspects under international law within national prosecutorial regimes. Beginning with the modern-day Somali piracy model, and exploring the reasons for piracy organizers and financiers to have employed Somali youth as pirates, author Milena Sterio analyzes the relevant international legal framework applicable to the treatment of juvenile criminal suspects, such as international human rights law, international criminal law, including the statutes of several international and ad hoc tribunals, as well as legal issues related to the use of child soldiers, as a parallel to the use of child pirates. This volume examines recent national piracy prosecutions involving juvenile suspects in Germany, Spain, India, Italy, Malaysia, the Seychelles, and the United States, developing a set of recommendations and best practices for all piracy prosecuting nations dealing with juvenile suspects to refer to in developing their national policy toward the treatment of juvenile piracy suspects.
This volume analyses the prospects and challenges of the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in context. The book is for all readers interested in African institutions and contemporary global challenges of peace, security, human rights, and international law. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
This comparative study of piracy and maritime violence provides a fresh understanding of European overseas expansion and colonisation in Asia. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
ÔA number of books dealing with piracy have been published in recent years. This book stands out by the breadth of its coverage, which, unusually and much to be welcomed, includes detailed consideration of both public and private law. The book is also notable for the quality and range of expertise of its contributors, who are not only leading experts in the field but a mixture of academic and practising lawyers.Õ Ð Robin Churchill, The University of Dundee, UK ÔPiracy once again is posing serious threats to international trade, navigation and, of course, to the safety of seafarers. This collection of outstanding essays by outstanding scholars and practitioners examines the background to the re-emergence of piracy in South Asia, East and West Africa and explores the complex legal and practical challenges which crafting effective responses has presented. It is, quite simply, essential reading for anyone who is seriously interested in understanding and responding to one of the most pressing problems of our time.Õ Ð Malcolm Evans, University of Bristol, UK Modern Piracy is the first book to survey the law of maritime piracy from both public law and commercial law perspectives, as well as providing a contextual overview of piracy in major hotspots. Topics covered include issues of international law, law-enforcement cooperation, private armed security, ransoms, insurance and carriage of goods by sea. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the range of legal issues presented by the modern piracy menace and will be of interest to scholars and practitioners alike. Benefiting from a wide range of international expertise, this book will be of interest to public international law academics, government legal counsel, maritime commercial law practitioners, international relations academics as well as anyone interested in transnational organised crime.
In Piracy and the Origins of Universal Jurisdiction, Mark Chadwick relates a colourful account of how and why piracy on the high seas came to be considered an international crime subject to the principle of universal jurisdiction, prosecutable by any State in any circumstances.
