Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

More on Pirates

Apropos my earlier post, my old friend Tony Arend writes:

Piracy has long been considered as a delicta juris gentium-- a crime against the law of peoples. Accordingly, a pirate is recognized as a hostis humani generis--an enemy of humankind, and all states are allowed to exercize jurisdiction over pirates under the universality principle. So if the British are concerned about how Somalia will treat pirates, Britain should try them in British courts. The British legal system would protect their human rights but also ensure that persons convicted of piratical acts not go free.