Chinese Journal of International Law Advance Access originally published online on May 3, 2009
Chinese Journal of International Law 2009 8(2):323-345; doi:10.1093/chinesejil/jmp006
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
New Developments in the International Law of Piracy
Correspondence: * Harris Professor of International Law, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, UK (email: kzou{at}uclan.ac.uk)
The law of piracy can be regarded as the oldest branch of international law, particularly the law of the sea. While the basic legal stipulations in international law as embodied in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea remained unchanged for a long time, there are some new developments relating to the change of the law of piracy associated with the resurgence of contemporary piracy in the 1990s and the so-called "anti-terror war" led by the United States after the September 11 event. This paper will address three aspects: the definition of piracy; new international legislation concerning piracy; and recent State practice, all contributing to the development of the international law of piracy.
This paper is a revised and updated version of my Keynote Speech to the International Symposium on "Piracy and Maritime Security in the South China Sea" organized by the China National Institute for South China Sea Studies, Sanya, China, 15–16 March 2008. The author is grateful to Professor William T. Burke and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions on the previous versions of this article, but assumes the sole responsibility for any error or omission in the article. This article was completed in January 2009. Uncommon abbreviations used in this paper include: BCN, biological, chemical, nuclear; CTF-151, Combined Task Force 151; IMB-PRC, Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau; ISC, Information Sharing Center; ISPS Code, International Ship and Port Facility Security Code; PSI, Proliferation Security Initiative; ReCAAP, Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia; SOLAS, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea; SUA Convention, Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation; SUA Protocol, Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation.