Piracy laws

The killing of three Somali pirates in the dramatic U.S. Navy rescue of a cargo ship captain has sparked concern for other hostages and fears that the stakes have been raised for future hijackings in the busy Indian Ocean shipping lane.

Sunday's rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips followed a shootout at sea on Friday by French navy commandos, who stormed a pirate-held sailboat, killed two pirates and freed four French hostages. The French owner of the vessel was also killed in the assault.

Under customary international law, pirates were considered "hostis humani generis" or "the enemy of mankind" and any country could arrest and try them under their jurisdiction.

The modern international law governing piracy is the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS defines piracy as illegal acts of violence, detention, or depredation (plundering, robbing or pillaging) committed for private ends by a private ship on the high seas, i.e. outside the jurisdiction of any country.

The same acts, when committed inside the territorial waters of a country, do not fall under the definition of piracy, but are simply considered "sea robbery" under international law, and are dealt with by the laws of that country.

Under UNCLOS, all signatory countries are required to cooperate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy on the high seas. Any country may seize a pirate ship or a ship taken by pirates, arrest the pirates, and that country's courts are entitled to decide on the penalties to be imposed.

However, UNCLOS does not apply to sea robbery taking place within the territorial waters of a country, meaning that any rights and obligations it imposes are useless outside of the high seas.

In reaction to the Somali situation, the UN Security Council passed a resolution in June 2008 allowing countries with the consent of Somalia's transitional federal government to enter Somali waters to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, and to use, in a manner consistent with international law, all necessary means to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery.