Piracy and the Law

The recent increase in piracy off the Somali coast has pushed the issue to the forefront of world news. The U.N. recently estimated that, in 2008 alone, Somali pirates had netted as much as $120 million in ransom payments. The recent attack and capture of the U.S. cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama has especially focused America’s attention on the issue. The international legal framework in place to respond to such situations, and the laws relating to oceans in general, are covered in a wealth of print and online sources. Here are just a few:

• United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea - site includes the text of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international agreements; reports of the U.N. Secretary General; General Assembly resolutions and decisions; and other official U.N. records and documents relating to oceans and the law of the sea.

• Cornell Legal Information Institute Admiralty Page - provides an overview of the topic, plus links to primary federal, state, and international material.

• Maritime Security and Piracy Page - this page from the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies provides an extensive series of links to various documents and publications.

• Maritime Law Association of the United States - its web links page includes links to numerous legal sources.

Or take a look at one of the following titles from the library’s collection:

• Contemporary Piracy and Maritime Terrorism: The Threat to International Security

• Violence at Sea: A Review of Terrorism, Acts of War and Piracy, and Countermeasures to Prevent Terrorism

• Law of International Sea Piracy

J. Fusaris