Article 101 UNCLOS

UNCLOS Article 101 defines piracy: any illegal act of violence, detention, or depredation committed for private ends by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft, on the high seas or outside the jurisdiction of any state, against another ship or aircraft or persons or property aboard. It also covers voluntary participation in operating a pirate ship and incitement or facilitation. The two-ship requirement and the high-seas locus distinguish piracy from armed robbery against ships, which occurs within territorial waters.