The Law and Practice of Piracy at Sea: European and International Perspectives

This collection of essays provides a comprehensive assessment of the legal and policy approaches to maritime counter-piracy adopted by the EU and other international actors over the last few years. As the financial cost of Somali piracy for the maritime industry and the world economy as a whole was estimated to have reached $18 billion by 2010, the phenomenon of piracy at sea has steadily grown in significance and has recently attracted the attention of international policy makers. Moreover, piracy is intrinsically linked to state failure and other pathologies bred by it, such as organised crime and terrorism.This book adopts a holistic approach to the topic, examining approaches to piracy as these emerge in different geographical areas, as well as tackling the central issues which counter-piracy raises in terms of the most topical aspects of international law (international humanitarian law and armed conflict, piracy and terrorism, use of force). It also focuses on the approach of the