One of the powers and responsibilities of the US Congress, under Article 1 Section 8, Clause 10 of the US Constitution, is “to define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations.“ It seems relatively straight forward. Why then has the US Navy usually released Somali pirates who have been captured at sea?
The problem is that, notwithstanding a Constitutional mandate to do so, the US doesn’t want to hold the pirates. The same is true with all the other naval forces in the region. This catch and release policy seems more appropriate for managing trout fisheries than for protecting the lives and property of those at sea. Part of the problem lies in the first words of Clause 10 - “to define and punish piracies “. The discussion of exactly how to define and punish piracy is definitely ongoing.
A detailed and very interesting look at what to do with captured pirates has been published in the Tulane Maritime Law Journal by Michael H. Passman, entitled “Protections Afforded to Captured Pirates Under the Law of War and International Law“.
Read More
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment