Maritime piracy operations: Some legal issues

Abstract

The international legal regime pertaining to maritime piracy has developed and grown over the years. These changes were prompted due to lacunas in the legal system, which surfaced when the codified laws were implemented. The problem of maritime piracy flares up every few years, especially with the modernization of boats and weapons. Dealing with maritime piracy involves coordinated and orchestrated efforts at different levels including, domestic, regional and international. Anti-maritime piracy operations have been very successful in controlling and reducing piratical activities, for example, attacks on merchant vessels off the Somalian coast have considerably reduced. Given the success of such anti-maritime piracy operations, it becomes imperative to underscore some legal issues that may stand out and flag the gaps in the international maritime piracy legal regime. Identifying such legal issues will help the future lawmakers in deciding if such issues need resolution, and does it require further development or amendment of the current maritime piracy legal regime.