LibGuides: International Maritime Piracy: Finding Research Tools

Key Word Search Terms
- From UNBISNET: the best search to input: maritime piracy; full-text search, match ALL of these words. No quotations on the phrase.
- From SARA catalog: the best search to input: maritime piracy; or piracy at sea. No quotes for this either, because it is too limiting. More hits are generated from maritime piracy than piracy at sea.
  - First start with keyword search.
  - After you view the hits from the keywords, click on the various items generated to find all the subject headings.
  - From these subject headings, you can narrow your search, and choose which subject headings produce the best sources.
Research Strategies
- First, access SARA catalog or WORLDCAT (a database that identifies holdings in thousands of research libraries) and enter the keywords for the topic above.
- It is easier to start off perusing secondary sources that give a broad overview of the topic.
- Most of the time, these sources then cite to or direct the reader to other primary and secondary sources, which one can then utilize.
  - Starting off with the big picture helps especially if you are not sure what exactly you are looking for and what will be useful to you.
  - Next, check out current awareness links and articles, to get an idea of where the law is heading, and how recent events are helping to shape the law. More news on current awareness is also covered by clicking on the International Organizations links. These various organizations are usually the first to know and report on piracy news.
    - Specifically for the law on international piracy, it is extremely important to check out current awareness news articles because the law is currently in flux, with the addition of an increasing number of resolutions, reflective of the current need to take preventative measures against the rise in piracy in recent years.

Diffculties & Resolutions for the X-Researcher

Unfamiliarity with the Subject Area

For those unfamiliar with international law and international organizations, it may be helpful to browse and read up on the treaty research guide and the guide on the United Nations. These both link to official websites that further explain the various international bodies of law. Knowing the functions of the different organs of the United Nations will allow the researcher to better tackle the various documents that will come his or her way during the research (ie: knowing which decisions are binding and on whom, etc.). This is a great link from Globalex on United Nations research.

Unavailability of Resources

Oftentimes, the United Nations website for its treaty collection is unavailable or down due to updates. When this happens, the researcher should note that s/he will NOT be able to access the treaties that s/he may be looking for! It is therefore advisable for the researcher to re-direct him/herself not only to the main United Nations website, but to its other thematic bodies' websites to see if the document can be found in those places instead. Incidentally, some of the legal instruments and treaties are found below either by searching for piracy or browsing the webpage:

Oceans and Law of the Sea, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea,
Audio Visual Library of International Law (go to Historical Archives, Law of the Sea to generate extremely helpful links to documents, procedural history of the treaties, as well as status; also has the preparatory documents on the Conventions on the High Seas of 1958 and Law of the Seas of 1982)
International Maritime Organization

In case the UN website is down, other non-UN affiliated wesbites where the LOS Convention and other piracy documents can be directly accessed and linked to are through these links:

Also, some of these treaties may be accessed in some of the databases mentioned in Secondary Sources.

A Considerable Amount of Information on the Law of International Piracy

The researcher should be aware that the law on the prevention of international maritime piracy is not governed by only ONE convention. The law is a bit tricky, because a cursory look at the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea website only includes documents related to the LOS Convention. Be aware that your research on the topic is not yet complete, even though the website itself is very thorough on that particular convention! Heading to the International Maritime Organization leads one to other conventions promulgated in the prevention of sea piracy.