Legal Limbo: Prosecuting Crimes on the High Seas

Prosecuting crimes on the high seas proves difficult, but there has been success in prosecuting such crimes when the United Nations offers its support to sovereign nations.

When addressing the United Nations Security Council’s first ever debate about transnational maritime crime, Yury Fedotov (Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime) noted that two-thirds of the world’s surface is ocean, and nearly all of that lies beyond any nation’s jurisdiction.[1] While the scope of technology has surely advanced the way our world investigates and prosecutes crimes, the limbo of law on international waters can make it difficult for prosecutors to investigate even the most heinous crimes if they take place at sea.[2] There are different types of maritime crimes, and the criminal procedure may vary for each depending on the nature of the crime. However, countries have had success prosecuting crimes on their own with support from the United Nations.[3]

A formal adoption of international maritime laws occurred with the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, which was adopted by over 160 countries as of 2017.[4] Those laws give countries territorial jurisdiction over waters that extend 12 miles beyond their shores, as if that area was a country’s land.[5] Often, with respect to crimes that occur on the “high seas” (or the land that extends beyond any country’s physical jurisdictional limits), the laws of the vessel upon which a crime is committed govern the investigation and prosecution of those crimes.[6]  

For instance, the United States does have jurisdiction in the high seas “with respect to an offense by or against a national of the United States” when the vessel has a scheduled departure from or arrival in the United States.[7] One case of a crime aboard a Carnival Cruise illustrates this statute at work.[8] The defendant, who was not a U.S. citizen, was charged with sexually abusing a minor (a U.S. citizen) on a cruise ship.[9]  The crime occurred in international waters, approximately 63 miles off the coast of Mexico;[10] The vessel was not American, but was set to depart from and return to the U.S.[11] The defendant contended that “international treaties and principles of international law” prevented the Court from exercising jurisdiction over his case.[12] The Court, however, held that because the treaties were not self-executing, the principles of those treaties were preempted by U.S. law.[13] 

The high seas are also filled with criminals operating in more complex networks, which is why international commitments to fighting piracy are so important.[14] Pirates today are more organized, and they often coordinate their attacks to steal entire cargo ships rather than conducting simple theft.[15] While the United Nations has been steadfast in their commitment to solving the problem internationally, they’ve also had success by supporting sovereign nations in conducting their own trials.[16]  The small West African country of Togo conducted the first of its kind trial in 2021 against nine individuals for piracy-related crimes. The crew of pirates was apprehended by the Togo Navy, and the incident happened approximately 25 nautical miles from Lome, Togo.[17] Though maritime criminal networks are difficult to defeat, it seems that the infrastructure sovereign nations have can work to prosecute these crimes, with operational support from the United Nations.     

Elizabeth Heit is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLV.

This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
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[1] See Piracy and high seas crimes growing, becoming more sophisticated, UN Security Council told, UN News (Feb. 5, 2019), https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/02/1032011 [hereinafter Piracy and high seas crimes].

[2] See Eric Weiner, Cruise Ship Crimes in International Waters, NPR (Mar. 6, 2006, 1:00 PM), https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5251675.

[3] See Piracy and high seas crimes, supra note 1 (“UNODC continues to support trials in Kenya and Seychelles, as well as the humane and secure imprisonment of convicted pirates…”). See also Ted Kemp, Crime on the high seas: The World’s most pirated waters, CNBC (Jul. 20, 2016), https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/15/worlds-most-pirated-waters.html.

[4] See John P. Rafferty, Are There Laws on the High Seas? Encyclopedia Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/story/are-there-laws-on-the-high-seas). Date accessed?

[5] See id.

[6] See id.

[7] See 18 U.S.C. § 7

[8] See United States v. Roberts, 1 F. Supp. 2d 601, (E.D. La. 1998).

[9] See id. at 603.                                                                    

[10] See id. at 604-605.

[11] See id. at 605-607 (“…[A]lthough it is undisputed that the M/V CELEBRATION is owned by the Carnival Corporation, and that some of the Carnival Corporation’s shareholders are United States citizens, the M/V CELEBRATION is not an American vessel…”).

[12] Id. at 605.

[13] See id.

[14] See generally Piracy and high seas crimes, supra note 1.

[15] See Ted Kemp, Crime on the high seas: The World’s most pirated waters, CNBC (Jul. 20, 2016), https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/15/worlds-most-pirated-waters.html.

[16] See generally Nine Pirates Convicted in a First of its Kind Trial in West Africa, The Maritime Executive (Jul. 7, 2021), https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/nine-pirates-convicted-in-a-first-of-its-kind-trial-in-west-africa; see Piracy, supra note 1 (“UNODC continues to support trials in Kenya and Seychelles, as well as the humane and secure imprisonment of convicted pirates…”).

[17] See generally Piracy and high seas crimes, supra note 1.