seize the property on board”.
7 The arresting State’s courts may decide on the
penalties to be imposed.
8 It is worth noting that UNCLOS permits States to inspect
ships suspected of engaging in piracy.
2.2 SUA
In an effort to address the criminal acts at sea such as the hijacking of the Achille
Lauro,
9 SUA has provided for a broad list of whereby an attack can be labeled an
‘unlawful act’ even though it may not have taken place on the high seas. The
compiled language of this framework states that ‘piracy’ may involve only the
victim’s vessel but does not use implicitly the term ‘piracy’. Despite the limitation
of this definition, SUA establishes a clear and unquestionable link between piracy
and terrorism. This liaison between these two criminal acts was done by considering
the legal language applicable to the capture of the pirates to be the same as that of
terrorists that already exist in other conventions.
Given recent acts of terrorism, the maritime industry brought SUA to light and
tried to give it a greater importance by strengthening it through amendments known
as the 2005 protocols
10 which have not been fully and successfully adopted due to
the lack of necessary State ratification.
2.3 Shortcomings of UNCLOS and SUA
Despite all the extensive work that has been completed to date, the legal framework
pertaining to the piracy repression has noticeable gaps. Indeed, SUA provides a long
list of offences that does not embrace the entire types of violence made against
seafarers. In other words, for any act which is not listed, the Convention cannot be
applied as a legal means for prosecuting and punishing pirates or promoting international cooperation to combat piracy. For example, the “act of violence” expression
mentioned in Article 3(b) can be interpreted to cover hostage-taking or robbery, but
other acts such as demanding or taking ransom from the third party and selling seized
vessels for profit had not been addressed by the Convention. It is worth highlighting
that certain offences such as act of violence causing damage to the vessel or
communication of false information, must present a real threat to the navigation of
7 Article 105.
8 Idem.
9 MS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS
Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd, it was hijacked by members of the
Palestine Liberation Front in 1985.
10 Mejia Maximo Jr. and Mukherjee (2006).
392
K. Lagdami and A. Fakhry
7 The arresting State’s courts may decide on the
penalties to be imposed.
8 It is worth noting that UNCLOS permits States to inspect
ships suspected of engaging in piracy.
2.2 SUA
In an effort to address the criminal acts at sea such as the hijacking of the Achille
Lauro,
9 SUA has provided for a broad list of whereby an attack can be labeled an
‘unlawful act’ even though it may not have taken place on the high seas. The
compiled language of this framework states that ‘piracy’ may involve only the
victim’s vessel but does not use implicitly the term ‘piracy’. Despite the limitation
of this definition, SUA establishes a clear and unquestionable link between piracy
and terrorism. This liaison between these two criminal acts was done by considering
the legal language applicable to the capture of the pirates to be the same as that of
terrorists that already exist in other conventions.
Given recent acts of terrorism, the maritime industry brought SUA to light and
tried to give it a greater importance by strengthening it through amendments known
as the 2005 protocols
10 which have not been fully and successfully adopted due to
the lack of necessary State ratification.
2.3 Shortcomings of UNCLOS and SUA
Despite all the extensive work that has been completed to date, the legal framework
pertaining to the piracy repression has noticeable gaps. Indeed, SUA provides a long
list of offences that does not embrace the entire types of violence made against
seafarers. In other words, for any act which is not listed, the Convention cannot be
applied as a legal means for prosecuting and punishing pirates or promoting international cooperation to combat piracy. For example, the “act of violence” expression
mentioned in Article 3(b) can be interpreted to cover hostage-taking or robbery, but
other acts such as demanding or taking ransom from the third party and selling seized
vessels for profit had not been addressed by the Convention. It is worth highlighting
that certain offences such as act of violence causing damage to the vessel or
communication of false information, must present a real threat to the navigation of
7 Article 105.
8 Idem.
9 MS Achille Lauro was a cruise ship based in Naples, Italy. Built between 1939 and 1947 as MS
Willem Ruys, a passenger liner for the Rotterdamsche Lloyd, it was hijacked by members of the
Palestine Liberation Front in 1985.
10 Mejia Maximo Jr. and Mukherjee (2006).
392
K. Lagdami and A. Fakhry