Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law

Sea Piracy Project The Security Council has shown strong resolve to counter the pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden. Four Chapter VII-based Security Council Resolutions within the past 18 months alone, the authorization to use "all necessary means," and the proclaimed objective of a "full eradication of piracy" in the region send a clear message. Despite the Council's efforts to remedy some of the oft-lamented shortcomings of the UNCLOS enforcement regime, as far as enforcement jurisdiction is concerned, discerning precisely what States are currently allowed to do in their quest to repress piracy off Somalia's coast, as well as where and against whom, is far from easy. With regard to adjudicative jurisdiction, the picture is equally complex. UNCLOS arguably contains a jurisdictional basis in relation to adjudication, but the various Security Council Resolutions have also invoked a range of other relevant legal instruments such as the SUA and Hostage Conventions. In practice, States have been quite reluctant to initiate criminal proceedings against captured "pirates and armed robbers" and have occasionally released them on Somali shorelines. It is in this context that transfer agreements with regional States have been concluded and the Security Council has called for the use of so-called "shipriders," allowing States to bring "pirates and armed robbers at sea" directly into the criminal jurisdiction of a regional State willing to prosecute them.

Project category:	Research project
Organizational status:	Institute project
Project time frame:	Project commences: 2009 Project ends: 2011
Project status:	In progress
Project language(s):	English
Legal system(s):	International criminal law, international public law, human rights, law of the sea, rules on law enforcement

Head(s) of project:

• Anna Petrig, LL.M. (Harvard) [Email]

Contributors / Researchers:

• Justin Bachmann, LL.B. / B.A. (March - December 2010)
• Tilman Rodenhäuser (September - November 2009)

Publications (selection):

• Geiss, Robin / Petrig, Anna: Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea - The Legal Framework for Counter-Piracy Operations in Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 344 p., 1st edition, 2011.
• Petrig, Anna (ed.): Sea Piracy Law / Droit de la piraterie maritime, Selected National Legal Frameworks and Regional Legislative Approaches / Cadres juridiques nationaux et approches législatives régionales. Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 161 p., 2011.
• Geiß, Robin / Petrig, Anna: UN-mandatierte Piraterie-Bekämpfung im Golf von Aden - Langfristige Lösungen müssen gefunden werden [UN-mandated Counter-Piracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden - Long-Term Solutions Have to Be Found]. In: Vereinte Nationen, 2010, Issue⁄Volume 1, p. 3 - 8.
• Petrig, Anna: Pirateriebekämpfung im Golf von Aden [Counter-Piracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden]. In: Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (ed(s).): Forschungsbericht 2008-2009 [Research Report 2008-2009]. p. 63 - 67.
• Petrig, Anna: Pirateriebekämpfung vor den Küsten Somalias - Expertentreffen zum Thema "Multinational Law Enforcement & Sea Piracy" [Counter-Piracy Operations off the Coast of Somalia - Expert Meeting on "Multinational Law Enforcement & Sea Piracy"], Conference Paper, Jusletter, January 11, 2010.
• Petrig, Anna: Ungelöste Probleme der Pirateriebekämpfung vor Somalia [Unsolved Problems in the Fight against Piracy off the Coast of Somalia]. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 22.12.2009, p. 7/9.
  Article also available online.

 

Downloads and Links:

• Scholarship Program on "Criminal Law & Sea Piracy"

  The Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law recently awarded several in-house research scholarships to African academics and legal practitioners who were carrying out research in the area of the criminal law pertaining to sea piracy. The research focus was on the national legal framework pertaining to piracy and armed robbery at sea in Kenya, Tanzania, and Djibouti.

• • Scholarship announcement ( 74.3 KB)

• Expert Meeting on "Multinational Law Enforcement & Sea Piracy"

  The Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law hosted an Expert Meeting on Multinational Law Enforcement and Sea Piracy on November 27-28, 2009. Experts from academia and practice met at the Institute to discuss issues and challenges that arise in the context of counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
  
  
• • Program of the Expert Meeting (127.4 KB)
  • Press release (November 24, 2009): announcement of the Expert Meeting (German only) ( 89.2 KB)
  • Press release (January 15, 2010): results of the Expert Meeting (English) (145.5 KB)
  • Press release (December 11, 2009): results of the Expert Meeting (German) (103.7 KB)

• Last update: 25 July 2011
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