Towards universality and uniformity : combating the jurisdictional challenges facing the prosecution of Somali pirates in light of the legal void left by UNCLOS

Abstract

The upsurge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, which began in 2008, was unprecedented. Jurisdictional provisions laid down in international and domestic law are proving to be insufficient. Consequently, piracy in the Gulf of Aden has necessitated innovative legal responses to a modern outbreak1 of an old crime. The international law on piracy is enshrined in Articles 14 – 21 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas2 (hereinafter ‘High Seas Convention’) and is substantially reproduced in Articles 100 – 107 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a widely ratified treaty.3 The High Seas Convention and UNCLOS, while being a de lege ferenda exercise, has produced a definition of piracy with widespread international acceptance.