Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships

Piracy is defined by UNCLOS Article 101 as consisting of any illegal acts of violence or detention committed for private ends by persons on a private ship, whether they call themselves crew or passengers, and directed against another ship either on the high seas, or at least in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State. This definition has been incorporated into English law by virtue of section 26 Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 and, accordingly, applies to the venerable statutory provisions which are enforced globally against a person who commits an act of piracy; it matters not which is the Flag State of the pirate ship or the innocent vessel.1 According to the legal theory of English criminal law, the offender may be arrested, tried and punished, in this case, in the Crown Court,2 even though the alleged offence took place in international waters. If the offending activity took place within the jurisdiction of UK territorial waters, then the Defendant will be arraigned on the charge in domestic law of robbery, under the Theft Act 19683 and tried in the Crown Court, irrespective of which State had allocated its flag to the innocent vessel.4 In terms of Sovereign State jurisdiction, this is an obvious example of the common-sense application of the clear statement rule.5