The Law and Practice of Piracy at Sea: European and International Perspectives

• Author: Dr. Chris Rahman
• Position: Senior Research Fellow in Maritime Strategy and Security, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong
• Pages: 137-139

(2014) 28 ANZ Mar LJ

137

BOOK REVIEW

Panos Koutrakos and Achilles Skordas (eds). The Law and Practice of

Piracy at Sea: European and International Perspectives. Hart Publishing,

Oxford (2014). xl, 374 pp.

ISBN 9781849464123

Dr Chris Rahman*

The problem of piracy is an age-old one, almost as ancient as seafaring itself. However, the character, costs and

consequences of piratical endeavour across the world’s seas and oceans in contemporary times has been a

variable story specific to particular geographical and political-cultural contexts. Initially, in the 1990s, shipping

industry and maritime user state concern was directed at the alleged grow th in the rate of piratical incidents in

Southeast Asia, particularly in and around Indonesian waters. The focus of international concern quickly shifted

in the mid 2000 s to the Horn of Africa, though , as the threat to international shippin g and goo d order at sea

posed by Somali pirates began to spiral out of control. And, just as the Somali problem is now seemingly under

control, ever greater concern is currently focused upon the problem in the Gulf of Guinea, where attacks, largely

but not exclusively conducted by Nigerians involved in the Niger Delta insurgency, have been on the rise.

It is in these contexts that this book has been produced, to address legal issues related to the international law of

piracy and its adequacy, and practical arrangements to counter the piracy threat, particularly in light of the

Somalia experience.

There are a number of potential warning signs with this book. First, as an edited volume with its origin in a

workshop, one can typically expect significant variability in chapter quality. Second, the European and

international perspectives p romised in the book’s subtitle m ay be slightly misleading: aside fro m one American

contributor, all others are either European or Europe-based. As the initial workshop was sponsored by the

European Commission, there exists the obvious potential for a narrowly European Union-centric approach to the

volume. Third, the book could have been a purely academic exercise sans policy relevance. Happily, none of

these concerns are particula rly well founded. It is a well-edited book with an overall high standard of individual

chapter content. Although it does have a strong Europe bias, this is perhaps unsurprising given the heavy

commitments made by European states to combat the Somali pirate threat, both within the auspices of the

European Union as part of EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta and as NATO members. Most encouragingly,

contributors include legal advisors to the Council of the European Union, NAT O, the UK Foreign and

Commonwealth Office, and the US State Department, which adds extra credibility to the book.

It is a substantial volume, including 40 pages listing cited cases, legislation and international legal instrume nts,

an introduction; and 15 extensively footnoted chapters divided into three parts: Part I on the underlying legal

norms related to piracy and counter-piracy operations; Part II on specific national, regional and international

approaches to dealing with aspects of the threat; and Part III on new policy, legal and conceptual approaches to

the piracy problem.

Article 101 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC)1 sets out the international legal definition

of the transnational crime of piracy, closely derived from that established in the 1958 High Seas Convention.2

The three most salient features of the LOSC definition are that two ships (or aircraft), victim and pirate, must be

involved; that the crime must be carried out for ‘private ends’; and that it must occur on the high seas, including

the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) due to LOSC Article 58(2), which applies Articles 88 to 115 on the high

seas also to the EEZ. The meaning, provenance and alleged inadequacies of the LOSC definition are discussed

in detail in the book’s first chapter, written by senior legal scholar, Robin Churchill, co-author of what was for

two decades the standard law of the sea textbook. He evaluates a number of criticisms of the LOSC definition of

piracy, including the lack of clarity in the definition regarding the precise meaning of ‘acts of violence or

detention, or any act of depredation’ and ‘private ends.’ He also critiques the LOSC for not requiring parties to

establish legislative jurisdiction over the crime: without such implementing legislation it is not possible for

* Senior Research Fellow in Maritime Strategy and Security, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS),

University of Wollongong.

1 1833 UNTS 3.

2 450 UNTS 11.