Pirates and the Law in the 21st Century

Who are pirates?

Piracy, in its original and strict meaning, is every unauthorized act of violence committed by a private vessel on the open sea against another vessel with intent to plunder. … But there are cases possible which are not covered by this narrow definition, and yet they are treated in practice as though they were cases of piracy. … If a definition is desired which really covers all such acts as are in practice treated as piratical, piracy must be defined as every unauthorized act of violence against persons or goods committed on the open sea either by a private vessel against another vessel or by the mutinous crew or passengers against their own vessel.German jurist Lassa Oppenheim, International Law: A Treatise (1905)

Primarily the pirate is a man who satisfies his personal greed or his personal vengeance by robbery or murder in places beyond the jurisdiction of the state. The man who acts within a public object may do like acts to a certain extent, but his moral attitude is different, and the acts themselves will be kept within well-marked bounds. He is not only not the enemy of the human race, but he is the enemy solely of a particular state.”English lawyer William Edward Hall, Treatise of International Law (1880)

Achille Lauro