Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/57858
Strategies to Enhance Efforts to Prosecute Suspected Pirates There are a number of ways the international commu- nity can enhance its approach to ensure that pirates are held accountable for their crimes. First, all states must ensure that they have the necessary domestic laws and procedures in place to prosecute suspected pirates. International law provides a robust frame- work for dealing with piracy, but states must imple- ment this framework to be effective. Law enforcement and/or naval authorities must have the necessary domestic legal authorities to carry out counter-piracy operations, including apprehending and transferring captured suspects. Also, states must have criminal statutes in place that provide a basis for prosecuting WKHVH VXVSHFWV DQG WKRVH ZKR ÀQDQFH RU RWKHUZLVH facilitate acts of maritime piracy. modern Somali piracy can be successfully prosecuted in ordinary national courts by any willing state with the basic judicial capacity to do so. At the same time, despite the sheer number of pros- ecutions worldwide, there is little evidence that these prosecutions are having a deterrent effect. In addi- tion, the international community continues to face a number of challenges that hinder states' ability to bring pirates to justice. For example, following the pirate attack on the S/V Quest, and the murder of the four Americans aboard the yacht, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a comprehensive review of the department's counter-piracy strategy. Enhancing the international community's ability to prosecute and incarcerate pirates has been one key aspect of that policy review. One of the primary challenges is that many states, to varying degrees, have not demonstrated sustained political will to criminalize piracy and prosecute sus- pected pirates who attack their interests. Many are understandably daunted by the prospect of prosecut- LQJ WKHLU ÀUVW SLUDF\ FDVH LQ PRGHUQ PHPRU\ DQG still others have expressed concerns that it would EH GLIÀFXOW WR UHPRYH 6RPDOL QDWLRQDO VXVSHFWV IURP their territory in the event they are acquitted; or, if convicted, after they conclude any prison sentence. Finally, states have become increasingly reluctant to accept suspects (for prosecution, because of lim- ited prison capacity and the long-term costs of post- conviction imprisonment), especially in the Horn of Africa region. 66 Proceedings Spring 2012 7KH GHÀQLWLRQ RI SLUDF\ XQGHU FXVWRPDU\ LQWHUQD- WLRQDO ODZ UHÁHFWHG LQ $UWLFOH RI WKH 8 1 Convention on the Law of the Sea, clearly covers those who knowingly incite or intentionally facilitate an act RI SLUDF\ E\ IRU H[DPSOH SURYLGLQJ WKH ÀQDQFLQJ IRU the skiffs, engines, weapons, and other gear used to pirate a ship.2 However, even states that have crimi- nalized piracy might not have criminalized it to the IXOO H[WHQW RI WKH $UWLFOH GHÀQLWLRQ 6WDWHV VKRXOG H[DPLQH ZKHWKHU WKH GHÀQLWLRQ RI SLUDF\ XQGHU WKHLU domestic law needs to be expanded to encompass WKH IXOO GHÀQLWLRQ XQGHU LQWHUQDWLRQDO ODZ DQG RU whether there are other criminal charges that could EH EURXJKW DJDLQVW DQ LQGLYLGXDO ZKR ÀQDQFHV RU RWK- erwise facilitates an act of piracy. Second, the international community should support expanding prison capacity in the region, especially in Somalia, and implement a prisoner transfer frame- work for Somali pirates convicted outside of Somalia. The Legal Working Group has been working with UNODC to develop such a framework, with the full support of the CGPCS. The hope is that increasing prison capacity throughout the region and develop- ing such a framework to allow the controlled transfer of convicted pirates back to Somalia will encourage PRUH VWDWHV WR SURVHFXWH VXVSHFWHG SLUDWHV LQ WKH ÀUVW place. Third, while no one state or prosecution mechanism can or should shoulder the entire burden of prosecut- ing the number of piracy suspects captured every year by the international naval forces operating at continued on page 68 www.uscg.mil/proceedings