The Ali and Shibin cases in relation to Article 101(c) of UNCLOS and the facilitation of piracy

Abstract

After a hiatus of more than 100 years, two Somali piracy cases in the U.S. domestic courts – the Ali and Shibin cases – provided an important opportunity to update U.S. (and international) appreciations of ongoing issues of differential interpretation around piracy as an international law crime, and as a domesticated offence. This chapter outlines the legal context of these two interlinked cases, and then assesses how the courts dealt with the key issues of extraterritoriality and universal jurisdiction in relation to facilitation of piracy, including universal jurisdiction over the on-shore elements of a piracy facilitation offence. Show more