Countering Persistent Contemporary Sea Piracy: Expanding Jurisdictional Regimes

This Article recommends various normative and procedural reforms and, in particular, advocates for the expansion of the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) as a permanent forum for the prosecution of suspected pirates.... To this end, the Article consists of six parts. Part I evaluates the common practice of outsourcing piracy enforcement and the various legal and non-legal problems that follow as a result of such practice. Part II analyzes the definition of piracy in the context of international law instruments and addresses the relevant jurisdictional implications of that definition. Part III focuses on the response of the United Nations to piracy, and, in particular, the U.N. Security Council’s efforts in Africa. Part IV discusses the ITLOS and the respective roles that international jurisdiction and universal jurisdiction play in the prosecution of piracy. Part V looks at the methods by which piracy law is enforced on both national and local levels, with special attention to Somalia. Lastly, Part VI recommends that particular areas of piracy law be expanded, and ultimately calls for broader approaches to the problem in order to build a more robust system of enforcement. [excerpt