Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

US Coast Guard chief calls for enforcement of international piracy laws

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A "legal framework" is needed to enforce existing international laws against piracy, Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the US Coast Guard, said in an interview on ABC's "This Week" Sunday morning. Allen said the latest acts of Somali piracy, in which American Capt. Richard Phillips was taken hostage after a struggle on the Maersk Alabama, highlighted the need for authorization for forces to enter Somali waters to combat piracy: What you really have to have is a coordinating mechanism that ultimately brings these pirates to court where they can be held accountable. ...hese are criminal acts. These are acts - crimes against the Law of the Sea Treaty, and they're also crimes against the 1988 convention in Rome,Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation. There is ample legal requirements and jurisdiction to be able to take action against these pirates. And that's what we should be doing. Allen said enforcement of piracy laws would remove pressure on merchants to pay ransoms. Phillips was freed later Sunday after a US Navy rescue operation in which three of his captors were killed. In March, the European Union (EU) announced an agreement with Kenya to transfer suspected pirates captured by EU counter-pirate operations into Kenyan custody for prosecution. In December 2008, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for greater judicial cooperation to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia. In October 2008, the UN Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1838, condemning all acts of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, and calling on states to "deploy naval vessels and military aircraft to actively fight piracy on the high seas off the coast of Somalia." Although maritime piracy is increasingly widespread, Somalia's coast has been ranked as the most dangerous in the world due to a surge in attacks on ships carrying traded goods or humanitarian aid.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on April 12, 2009 (boomark / email).