Constitutional Law

Piracy and arming crews

General Petraeus has proposed arming merchantmen. The main resistance seems to be coming from the ship owners, who'd rather pay ransom than risk ... whatever they fear. "Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, cautioned that deploying armed guards aboard cargo ships could escalate violence if pirates expect a gunfight."

What might change the dynamic: via reader Don Hamrick comes the link to lawsuit filed by Richard Hicks, against the Maersk Line. He was injured in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, and charges that the ship's owner exposed the crew to piracy without providing security. In a regular court, that'd probably fail, since one person is not ordinarily responsible for prevent someone else's illegal acts, but the complaint alleges that maritime law places certain duties on the ship owner.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).