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Proceedings Spring 2014
www.uscg.mil/proceedings
address port security — adjusted to meet the specifc needs
of the governments with which it is conducted.
The Future of International Port Security
International port security cooperation at such levels has
enhanced U.S. border security, but there are still many
untapped benefts. Today, the IPS Program improves and
develops partnerships within the U.S. government to fnd
synergies among related Department of Defense and State
Department components.
Likewise, the Coast Guard is engaging with the United
Nations and with other regional organizations to develop
the Model Port Security Compendium as an international
legislative standard. In this way, the International Port Secu-
rity Program is furthering international port security part-
nerships and strengthening border security by safeguard-
ing ports frequented by commercial vessels.
About the author:
Mr. Stephen Cox is a civilian attorney with the Coast Guard's International
Port Security Program. As legal section director, he coordinates interagency
legal initiatives and represents the U.S. Coast Guard to governments and
international organizations abroad. Prior to this assignment he was an
admiralty law practitioner in New Orleans, La.
Endnotes:
1.
See 33 C.F.R. §101.
2.
Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations. Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, Progress Report, 2011. Available at www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/
assets/implementing-9-11-commission-report-progress-2011.pdf.
international legislative best practices to provide a multina-
tional sampling and restatement of laws that addresses ship
and port security measure implementation and enforcement.
Primarily, the MPSC is an analytical tool for IPS Program
international legal assessments, but it has also proved valu-
able in communicating detailed port security regulatory
concepts to developing countries. Rather than a rigid cross-
referenced code, the MPSC is a collection of stand-alone
port security measures designed to allow for selective use
and application under any legislative system. For example,
it introduces model language to empower the national
authority to conduct searches, make arrests, and prosecute
violations. Similarly, the model discusses jurisdiction and
procedure legal issues, before providing a sampling of draft
legislation to define specific security-related crimes and
associated penalties.
The Model Port Security Compendium has been tested in
several African, Asian, South American, and Caribbean
countries that are already adapting its language to draft
their own effective port security laws and regulations.
Additionally, working in cooperation with the Asia Pacifc
Economic Cooperation, the Coast Guard has also devel-
oped a port security legislation workshop to engage policy
makers and their legislative drafters in drafting effective
port security laws and regulations. The workshop pro-
vides stakeholders an intensive two-to three-day session to
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