INTERNATIONAL FIGHT AGAINST SOMALI PIRATES

Abstract

This article, which deals with the issue of international community’s fight against Somali sea robbers, has a four parts. In the first part, the author points to the significance of the problem of Somali piracy and analyses the causes of this problem. In addition, he points to the basic characteristics of Somali pirates and reviews forms of the fight against such criminals performed by international community so far. In the second part, the author presents international regulation concerning this issue. He first explains how international law regulates sea robbery in international waters (piracy in the narrower sense) and points to the provisions of the two most important international treaties – Convention on the High Seas (1958) and UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). After that, the author analyses the relation between international law and sea robbery in territorial waters and Somalia. He reviews the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Act Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (1988) with its protocols and especially the UN Security Council resolutions concerning the suppression of sea robbery near the Somali coast. Particular attention is given to the analysis of the influence of these resolutions on practice and it is concluded that resolutions did not improve international fight against Somali pirates so far. Therefore, it is expressed concern over the further rise in acts of Somali piracy despite of adoption of such resolutions. In the third part of the article, the author is trying to answer the question why the fight against pirates is unsuccessful while so many national intelligence agencies, maritime flotillas, international organizations and UN Security Council are engaged in this fight. The author notices that fight is not effective although international law provides precise framework for fight against sea robbers and UN Security Council resolutions give great authorities to foreign warship - including the right of hot pursuit in territorial waters, even on land of Somalia! The author identified some reasons for such unsuccess and classified them into three groups: 1) problems concerning the arrest of pirates; 2) uninterest of countries in fight against pirates on the high seas; 3) problems with pirates extradition to the countries in the region for trial and punishment.

The last part of the article deals with possibilities of improvement of fight against Somali pirates. The author gives concrete proposals and notices that international community should invest in reconstruction of Somali society instead of spending huge amount of money for fight against piracy. In that case, it would probably not have to fight against sea robbers in that part of the world.