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Changes in the Views on Jurisdiction over Piracy under International Law

Johansson, Kristina (2006)
Department of Law
Abstract
Jurisdiction over piracy under international law is universal according to UNCLOS, but piracy itself has changed since the regulations that UNCLOS is based on was concluded. This thesis discusses the question whether the views on jurisdiction over piracy under international law has changed and the conclusion that is reached is that views have changed, at least in areas that are badly affected by piracy, but they have not changed enough to make any changes possible to, for example, UNCLOS. The starting point is the definition of piracy under international law, both the traditional view and the more modern view and the way that it has influenced the jurisdiction over piracy and what the differences are. It is clear that differences exist and... (More)
Jurisdiction over piracy under international law is universal according to UNCLOS, but piracy itself has changed since the regulations that UNCLOS is based on was concluded. This thesis discusses the question whether the views on jurisdiction over piracy under international law has changed and the conclusion that is reached is that views have changed, at least in areas that are badly affected by piracy, but they have not changed enough to make any changes possible to, for example, UNCLOS. The starting point is the definition of piracy under international law, both the traditional view and the more modern view and the way that it has influenced the jurisdiction over piracy and what the differences are. It is clear that differences exist and that the traditional universal jurisdiction was based on the fact that piracy could only occur on the high seas where no state had exclusive jurisdiction and it was therefore accepted that all states could exercise jurisdiction over pirates. When comparing the traditional view on piracy with the modern view, or the acts that occur today it is apparent that the traditional view on jurisdiction over piracy is no longer effective and does not match the incidents. After looking at cases that have been reported to IMB/PRC it can be shown that piracy is no longer a problem mainly on the high seas as it used to be. Piracy is now getting more and more common in areas that are under the jurisdiction of a state, for example in territorial waters, international straits and even in internal waters and in ports. The problem is therefore that the regulations under international law that apply to acts of piracy and jurisdiction over such acts are still used to fight piracy on the high seas and not in areas that are under the jurisdiction of a state. It would not be a major problem if all states had the capability of dealing with piracy in their own waters, but the fact is that most states that are now badly affected, do not have any resources to do so. One example that is used in this thesis is Somalia, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for international shipping and where the number of incidents of piracy has risen considerably. The conclusion reached is that since no changes have been made regarding jurisdiction over piracy in international conventions like UNCLOS and because the likelihood of such changes taking place is very small, other solutions have to be found. Various suggestions of such solutions are discussed in the thesis and the most useful is to consider regional agreements between states that have severe problems with piracy. It is then possible to find solutions especially designed to deal with the problems in the specific area and ultimately to assist each other with policing the waters in order to apprehend and prosecute the pirates. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Johansson, Kristina
supervisor
organization
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Folkrätt
language
English
id
1558803
date added to LUP
2010-03-08 15:55:23
date last changed
2010-03-08 15:55:23
@misc{1558803,
  abstract     = {{Jurisdiction over piracy under international law is universal according to UNCLOS, but piracy itself has changed since the regulations that UNCLOS is based on was concluded. This thesis discusses the question whether the views on jurisdiction over piracy under international law has changed and the conclusion that is reached is that views have changed, at least in areas that are badly affected by piracy, but they have not changed enough to make any changes possible to, for example, UNCLOS. The starting point is the definition of piracy under international law, both the traditional view and the more modern view and the way that it has influenced the jurisdiction over piracy and what the differences are. It is clear that differences exist and that the traditional universal jurisdiction was based on the fact that piracy could only occur on the high seas where no state had exclusive jurisdiction and it was therefore accepted that all states could exercise jurisdiction over pirates. When comparing the traditional view on piracy with the modern view, or the acts that occur today it is apparent that the traditional view on jurisdiction over piracy is no longer effective and does not match the incidents. After looking at cases that have been reported to IMB/PRC it can be shown that piracy is no longer a problem mainly on the high seas as it used to be. Piracy is now getting more and more common in areas that are under the jurisdiction of a state, for example in territorial waters, international straits and even in internal waters and in ports. The problem is therefore that the regulations under international law that apply to acts of piracy and jurisdiction over such acts are still used to fight piracy on the high seas and not in areas that are under the jurisdiction of a state. It would not be a major problem if all states had the capability of dealing with piracy in their own waters, but the fact is that most states that are now badly affected, do not have any resources to do so. One example that is used in this thesis is Somalia, which is considered to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for international shipping and where the number of incidents of piracy has risen considerably. The conclusion reached is that since no changes have been made regarding jurisdiction over piracy in international conventions like UNCLOS and because the likelihood of such changes taking place is very small, other solutions have to be found. Various suggestions of such solutions are discussed in the thesis and the most useful is to consider regional agreements between states that have severe problems with piracy. It is then possible to find solutions especially designed to deal with the problems in the specific area and ultimately to assist each other with policing the waters in order to apprehend and prosecute the pirates.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Kristina}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Changes in the Views on Jurisdiction over Piracy under International Law}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}