scholarly journals Pirates Versus Mercenaries: Purely Private Transnational Violence at the Margins of International Law

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansel Halliburton

Examines international law's application to maritime piracy and private military companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-220
Author(s):  
Jade Lindley

Maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region is strategically important to not only the surrounding states, but also those with an interest in its good governance, to support safe passage and natural resources extraction. Criminal threats, such as maritime piracy and illegal fishing, enabled by corruption and the potential for terrorism, undermine regional maritime security and therefore, there is incentive for states to respond cooperatively to secure the region. Drawing on broken windows crime theory, implicitly supporting the continuation of criminal threats within the region may enables exiting crimes to proliferate. With varying legal and political frameworks and interests across the Indo-Pacific region, achieving cooperation and harmonisation in response to regional maritime-based criminal threats can be challenging. As such, to respond to criminal threats that undermine maritime security, this article argues that from a criminological perspective, aligning states through existing international law enables cooperative regional responses. Indeed, given the prevalence of corruption within the region enabling serious criminal threats, harmonising through existing counter-corruption architecture may be a suitable platform to build from.


2020 ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
Amarilla Kiss

Maritime piracy is an activity that was considered defunct long ago and that Latin American countries experience it again in the 21st century. Since 2016 the number of attacks has increased dramatically involving armed robbery, kidnapping and massacre. Modern day piracy has nothing to do with the romantic illusion of the pirates of the Caribbean, this phenomenon is associated with the governmental, social or economic crisis of a state. When it appears, we can make further conclusions regarding the general conditions of the society in these states. But do these attacks really constitute piracy under international law? Does Latin American piracy have unique features that are different from piracy in the rest of the world? The study attempts to answer the questions why piracy matters in Latin America and how it relates to drug trafficking and terrorism. Apart from that, the study presents a legal aspect comparing the regulation of international law to domestic law, especially to the national law of Latin American states.


Author(s):  
Н. А. Князева

В представленной работе анализируются вопросы создания и функционирования специализированного международного суда для уголовного преследования морского пиратства. Отмечается, что морское пиратство всё ещё представляет серьёзную опасность для морского судоходства. Несмотря на небольшой уровень снижения пиратских нападений, эффективное противодействие пиратским атакам сопряжено с целым комплексом проблем. Одной из причин недостаточности мер по борьбе с пиратством является отсутствие механизма уголовного преследования лиц, совершивших пиратские нападения. Авторами установлено, что существующие меры направлены лишь на преследование и задержание лиц, подозреваемых в совершении пиратства, либо на пресечение пиратских атак путем патрулирования, а также конвоирования морских судов силами военных кораблей. Однако остаётся нерешенной проблема отправления правосудия над захваченными пиратами. В работе анализируется весь комплекс проблем судебного преследования пиратов, которые подразделяются на следующие виды: 1) правовые – уголовное правосудие осуществляется лишь на национальном уровне; 2) процессуальные – трудности в сборе и оформлении доказательств, сложности в установлении личности задержанных, поиске переводчика, а также в предоставлении правовой помощи задержанным лицам; 3) организационно-финансовые – у большинства государств отсутствуют необходимые помещения для содержания задержанных лиц, наблюдается нехватка средств для осуществления правосудия над пиратами. Сделан вывод о том, что наличие у государств двусторонних соглашений по сотрудничеству в осуществлении правосудия над пиратами не является гарантией выполнения всех обязательств сторонами. Обосновывается идея создания специализированного международного суда на территории какого-либо государства, который будет заниматься делами лиц, подозреваемых в пиратстве. Ключевые слова: пиратство, преступление, морская безопасность, противодействие, проблемы судебного преследования, уголовная ответственность, специализированный суд, национальное законодательство, международное право. Abstract. The presented work analyzes the issues of creating and functioning of a specialized international court for the criminal prosecution of maritime piracy. It is noted that maritime piracy still poses a serious threat to maritime shipping. In spite of a small decrease in pirate attacks, effective countering of pirate attacks is fraught with the whole range of problems. One of the reasons for the inadequacy of measures to combat piracy is the lack of a mechanism for criminal prosecution of persons who have committed pirate attacks. The authors found that the existing measures are aimed only at pursuing and arresting the persons suspected of committing piracy, or at suppressing pirate attacks by patrolling, as well as escorting sea vessels by military ships. However, the problem of administering justice over the captured pirates remains unresolved. The work analyzes the whole complex of problems in the prosecution of pirates, which is divided into the following types: 1) legal – criminal justice is carried out only at the national level; 2) procedural – difficulties in collecting and processing evidence, difficulties in identifying de-tainees, finding an interpreter, as well as providing legal assistance to detainees; 3) organizational and financial – most states do not have the necessary premises to keep these persons in custody, lack of funds to administer justice over pirates. It is concluded that the presence of bilateral agreements between governments on cooperation in the administration of justice over pirates is not a guarantor of the fulfillment of all obligations by the participants. The idea of creating a specialized international court on the territory of any state, which will deal with the cases of persons suspected of piracy, is substantiated. Keywords: piracy, crime, maritime security, counteraction, problems of prosecution, criminal liability, specialized court, national law, international law.


2021 ◽  
pp. 115-127
Author(s):  
Masha Fedorova ◽  
Piet Hein van Kempen

Masha Fedorova and Piet Hein van Kempen eschew explorations of the nature of piracy to focus on whether there is some legal basis for an obligation in conventional and customary international law on states to criminalize piracy, concluding that such an obligation is absent. But the main thrust of the chapter is an historical survey which tries to decipher why this is the case.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-777
Author(s):  
M. Bob Kao

AbstractThe rise of Somali piracy in the beginning of the 21st century led to a swift response by the international community. Suspects were arrested by naval forces in the high seas exercising universal jurisdiction. As there is no international tribunal for maritime piracy, the suspects were prosecuted in national courts using domestic laws. The United States prosecuted a handful of cases using its piracy statute passed in 1909, which incorporates international law but prescribes mandatory life imprisonment for those convicted. Although the definition of the crime of piracy in the United States evolves along with developments in international law, the punishment is an outlier that deviates from global norms. This article argues that the punishment for piracy in the United States must also evolve with international practice because a changing definition of a crime coupled with a fixed punishment may lead to rule of law violations and other undesirable results.


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