Fighting Piracy Should Be More Like the Old Days
David B. Rivkin Jr. & Lee A. Casey | November 19, 2008
The hijacking of a Saudi-owned oil tanker is unprecedented but only part of the recent, dramatic rise in piracy. ++ Capturing pirates in not a major problem, but due process makes dealing with captive pirates more complex than in the 1700s. ++ Universal jurisdiction should be applied in this case, allowing any state to try and punish pirates. ++ States should then try them in military courts. ++ Piracy, like terrorism, is “part of a broad challenge to civilization and international order” and will test the grit of Western governments.
