Piracy

Piracy, in international law, the crime of robbery, or other act of violence, for private ends, on the high seas or in the air above the seas, committed by the captain or crew of a ship or aircraft outside the normal jurisdiction of any nation, and without authority from any government. The people who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates. International treaties and national legislation have sometimes applied the term “piracy” to attacks on the high seas authorized by a government, in violation of international law; to actions by insurgents for political purposes; or to violent acts on board a vessel under control of its officers. Such acts, however, are not regarded as piracy under the law of nations. Piracy is distinguished from privateering (see Privateer) in that the latter is authorized by a belligerent in time of war; privateering was legally abolished by the Declaration of Paris of 1856, but the United States and certain other nations did not assent to the declaration.

Piracy is recognized as an offence against the law of nations. It is a crime not against any particular state, but against all humanity. The crime may be punished in the competent tribunal of any country in which the offender may be found, or carried, although it may have been committed on board a foreign vessel on the high seas. The essence of piracy is that the pirate has no valid commission from a sovereign state, or from an insurgent or belligerent government engaged in hostilities with a particular state. Pirates are regarded as common enemies of all people. Because nations have an equal interest in their apprehension and punishment, pirates may lawfully be captured on the high seas by the armed vessels of any state and brought within its territorial jurisdiction for trial in its tribunals.

Piracy is of ancient origin. The Phoenicians often combined it with more legitimate seafaring enterprise. From the 9th century through to the 11th the Vikings terrorized western European coasts and waters. The Hanseatic League, formed in the 13th century, was created partially to provide mutual defence against northern pirates roaming the North and Baltic seas. Muslim rovers, meanwhile, scourged the Mediterranean Sea, mixing naval war on a large scale with theft and the abduction of slaves. In the 17th century the English Channel swarmed with Algerian pirates, operating out of northern Africa; Algiers continued to be a piratical stronghold until well into the 19th century (see Barbary Coast; Corsair). The buccaneers were pirates who, during the 16th and 17th centuries, preyed mainly on Spanish commerce with the Spanish American colonies. Piracy waned with the development of the steam engine and the growth of the British and American navies in the latter part of the 18th century and early 19th century.

In municipal law, the term “piracy” has been extended to cover crimes other than those defined above, such as slave trading (see Slavery). An independent state has the power to regulate its own criminal code, and it may declare offences to be piracy that are not regarded as such by international law. These municipal laws can have binding force only in the jurisdiction creating them. Although similar regulations may be adopted by other states, in the absence of special agreement between two states, the officers of one may not arrest or punish subjects of the other for offences committed beyond its jurisdiction. In England, the Piracy Act 1837 made piracy a capital offence, but the death penalty was revoked for this offence in 1998. See also Capital Punishment; Smuggling.

For piracy in terms of counterfeiting of goods, see Copyright: Piracy and Licensing.