International Maritime Piracy: Key U.N. Treaties & Resolutions

NOTE: UN Security Council has authority under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to adopt legally binding decisions to prevent threats to international peace and security, which encompasses the crime of international maritime piracy.

U.N. General Assembly Resolutions on Oceans and Law of the Sea

U.N. Security Council Resolutions on Piracy

• The United Nations Security Council resolutions linked here ONLY apply to piracy in Somalia and disclaim any relevance to customary international law.
• Also remember, there is always more than one place to find these resolutions. If you know which body administered the resolution, you can go directly to its website. For instance, there is one current resolution on piracy that for some reason was NOT included in the above link for U.N. Security Council Resolutions on Piracy.  Because this is a Security Council resolution, one can go right to its website, click on resolutions, and view in 2010, the most recent ones related to piracy.  It turns out, that the one missing was S/RES/1950(2010).
• Therefore, it is good to double check your sources and not depend on just one database in case there is lag time in posting the most recent documents.

Status

The documents below can be searched for in the United Nations Documents page. Click Treaty Collection, and thereafter, go to Databases, where you can find which treaties are in force, and which states are parties to such treaties.  The status of Multilateral Treaties on The Law of the Seas can be found in Chapter XXI of the database. Although many of the treaties related to piracy are included in Chapter XXI, some others are not.  Nonetheless, they can be found through an Advanced Search. 

Text

To find the full text of all of the treaties, click on the links below or go to the Certified True Copies link. From the Certified True Copies link, one can find the full text either under Chapter XXI or by performing an Advanced Search, inputting the name of the treaty as listed below (Search Object: Treaty; Attributes: English Title) into Criteria for Selected Attribute, Match this phrase, Add, and then Search. In addition to providing the text of the treaty in various languages, treaties found this way also tell you which states are parties, and when the treaty came into force. 

The following are the most important and relevant treaties on the law of the prevention of International Maritime Piracy.  As mentioned in Finding Research Tools, a researcher may also access some of these documents through other websites including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) website under "Conventions" as well as in the Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL).

Note: that the first three treaties listed are under the same link, and you need to scroll down in the document file to view the relevant convention.

Note: when doing an individual Advanced Search for the treaty, sometimes entering the full english title of the treaty name may be too specific.  If necessary, inputting only some of the words from the title of the treaty will generate results, which you can then sift through to find the one you are looking for. Moreover, one can also search by inputting the published treaty source instead of searching by english title of the treaty (ie: U.N.T.S #). 

1958 High Seas Convention

            Convention on the High Seas, Apr. 29, 1958, 13 U.S.T. 2312, 450 U.N.T.S. 82 [hereinafter High Seas Convention].

• Relevant Provisions: Art. 14-23; Piracy is defined in Article 15.
• "All States shall operate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State."
• “Every State may seize a pirate ship...or a ship taken by piracy and under the control of pirates, and arrest the persons and seize the property on board. The courts of that state may then decide on the penalties and determine action that they will take with regard to the ships.”

1958 Territorial Sea Convention

            Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, Apr. 29, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 1606, 516 U.N.T.S. 205 [hereinafter Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone Convention].

•  Relevant Provision: Art. 24: "In a zone of the high seas contiguous to its territorial sea, the coastal State may exercise the control necessary to: ... (b) Punish infringement of the above regulations committed within its territory or territorial sea..."
  

1958 Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes

            Optional Protocol of Signature Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes Arising from the Law of the Sea Conventions, Apr. 29, 1958, 450 U.N.T.S. 169 [hereinafter Optional Protocol].

• "...to resort, in all matters concerning them in respect of any dispute arising out of the interpretation or application of any article of any Convention on the Law of the Sea of 29, April 1958, to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, unless some other form of settlement is provided in the Convention or has been agreed upon by the Parties..."

1972 United States-Soviet Union Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents on and over the High Seas

            Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas, May 25, 1972, 23 U.S.T. 1168, 852 U.N.T.S. 151 [hereinafter Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents].

•  Note: This is bilateral!

1974 Safety of Life at Sea Convention

            International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, Nov. 1, 1974, 32 U.S.T. 47, 1184 U.N.T.S. 2 [hereinafter SOLAS]

• Note: this is an international maritime safety treaty, often regarded as one of the most important concerning the safety of merchant ships.  The comprehensive maritime security measures serve to counter the threat to maritime security from attacks.

1982 Law of the Sea Convention

            United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Dec. 10, 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397 [hereinafter LOS Convention].

•  Relevant Provisions: Art. 100-110; Globally recognized regime dealing with all matters related to the law of the sea. Multilateral treaty, although not ratified by the United States; Defines piracy and codifies the international duty to cooperate in the repression of piracy. Although the United States is not a party to this Convention, it recognizes the repression of the crime of international maritime piracy as customary international law.
  

1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation

            Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, Mar. 10, 1988, 1988 U.S.T. 198, 1678 U.N.T.S. 222 [hereinafter SUA Convention].

• Note: This is the first treaty to establish a legal regime specifically addressing maritime security and maritime terrorism! Promulgated by the IMO. The main purpose is to ensure that appropriate action is taken against persons committing unlawful acts against ships. These include the seizure of ships by force and acts of violence against persons on board ships.  Also, the Convention obliges state member either to extradite or prosecute alleged offenders.

 2004 Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia    

            Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, Nov. 11, 2004, 2398 U.N.T.S. 199.

• Note: the United States is not a party.