Piracy

Piracy in international law is defined by UNCLOS Article 101: an illegal act of violence, detention, or depredation committed for private ends by the crew or passengers of a private ship against another ship on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state. The two-ship requirement and the high-seas locus mean armed robbery within a state’s territorial sea is not piracy under this definition. Article 105 gives every state universal jurisdiction to seize a pirate ship and prosecute the offenders.