Universal Jurisdiction over Piracy and East Asian Practice

Abstract

In recent years, the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on piracy repeatedly reiterated the use of universal jurisdiction to combat piracy. This article expounds the conceptual and application limitations of universal jurisdiction over piracy, and, from the three dimensions of universal jurisdiction (prescription, enforcement and adjudication), examines the relevant practice in East Asia. The author finds that universal jurisdiction is an indispensable tool in deterring, preventing and responding to pirate attacks, and that the implementation of universal jurisdiction in East Asia should be strengthened in the future by, among others, reforming domestic law to criminalize piracy and establish universal jurisdiction and by enhancing co-operation in prosecuting pirates, as well as by further advancing comprehensive and in-depth co-operation in law enforcement.