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COUNTERPIRACY UNDER
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Stuart Casey-Maslen and Alice Priddy
The Geneva Academy launched its first Academy Briefing, Counterpiracy under International Law, at
the Villa Moynier in September 2012. A rapid growth of piratical attacks over the past ten years,
especially off the coast of Somalia, but increasingly also in the Gulf of Guinea, has led to an international
effort to address the problem.
Existing international law, notably in the Law of the Sea Convention, is generally adequate to counter
piracy. What is lacking is political will and funding to prosecute and incarcerate pirates while
addressing the root causes of piracy.
There is, however, an urgent need to clarify the lawful use of force by private maritime security contractors.
When and in what circumstances they may open fire on another vessel on grounds of selfdefence
remains underdeveloped. Detailed guidance for the use of force (including warning shots)
by contractors would be a valuable next step. The Briefing seeks to indicate how this could be
elaborated.
Academy Briefing 1. Geneva:
Geneva Academy of International
Humanitarian Law and Human
Rights. 2012. 55 p.
THE DRAFT ARMS TRADE TREATY
Stuart Casey-Maslen, with Sarah Parker
Millions of people around the world suffer as a result of poor regulation of the arms trade and illicit
trafficking of arms, while hundreds of thousands are killed or injured by conventional arms. A global
Arms Trade Treaty needs to be adopted to set out the parameters of responsible and licit transfer of
weapons. A UN conference in New York in July 2012 failed to achieve consensus on the text of a
treaty, but did produce a draft text. In October 2012, the Geneva Academy launched an Academy
Briefing at the Institute to assess the adequacy of this draft.
Many challenges must be overcome in order to secure the adoption of an effective ATT. Among the
core issues to be addressed is the need to prohibit transfers of weapons that will likely be used to
commit genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes. Where other serious violations of international
human rights or humanitarian law are probable, transfers of weapons should not be authorised.
There should be no loophole for transfers through defence cooperation agreements, and
ammunition and munitions should be brought within the scope of the Treaty.
Academy Briefing 2. Geneva:
Geneva Academy of International
Humanitarian Law and Human
Rights. 2012. 39 p.
Academy Briefings are available in PDF format at
http://geneva-academy.ch
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LA REVUE DE L’INSTITUT I THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE REVIEW I GLOBE I N11 Printemps I Spring 2013
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