RESEARCH AIMS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The paper should be regarded as innovative and significant to the development of international maritime law sphere. The principal idea of this essay is to analyze the notion of the maritime terrorism by covering the following issues: (1) distinction of the maritime terrorism from the piracy; (2) identification of the maritime zones where the terrorism could take place; (3) consideration of the perspective targets of maritime terrorism. At the end of the research proposal, the author conducts the evaluation of the role of several international conventions over the regulation of maritime terrorism within the world.
Identification of the definition of maritime terrorism.
Which maritime zones and targets are covered by the lieu of maritime terrorism?
Talking about the resources, the author has decided to use the following:
1. The contemporary legisation accepted by the majority of the states such as international conventions – 1988 SUA Convention, UNCLOS, etc.
2. Several books and research papers devoted to the identification of the maritime zones, participants, several organizations involved in the prevention of maritime terrorism.
METHODOLOGY: The methodological approach to the research proposal implies that it includes several paragraphs which will dwell on the main spheres related to the maritime terrorism: notion and nature of the maritime terrorism, maritime zones addressed by terrorist attacks and the targets of the maritime terrorism.
In each of the three parts, nature and features of the maritime terrorism will be explored in stage 1, and the maritime zones where the terrorism exist will be identified in stage 2. In the final stage of each paragraph of the research, the author will provide the detailed comments to the issue of governance of the maritime terrorism by several international conventions in force.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
Maritime terrorism represents the critical challenge before the international community and existing legal regimes which regulate the jurisdictions of the states with respect to the exercising of maritime activities. Certainly that before the most disastrous terrorism attacks addressed the world on 11th September 2011, the issue of maritime terrorism has not been considered properly. Besides, this kind of activities was regulated by the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA Convention) of 1988. This international act governs the guidance for the prosecution and imposing the punishment for the acts falling within the scope of the notion of maritime terrorism. In addition, the protocol to the abovementioned convention such as Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf is regarded as the document which should address the spread of the maritime terorrism. The international community began the drafting process of these two documents in 1985 after the serious attacks in the Mediterranean Sea over Italian ship. Furthermore, these legal acts represent the counter-terrorism instruments which imply the creation of particular responsibility for the state members to the convention in order to maintain the peace and security within personal state jurisdiction.
Nevertheless, the 1988 SUA Convention has no definition of the maritime terrorism. This act stupulates the list of the activities which should be prosecuted and combated by the state parties in order to fulfill the obligations under the convention. These activities are the following:
Seizure of or exercise of control over a ship by any form of intimidation;
Destruction of a ship or the causing of damage to a ship or to its cargo;
Violence against the person on board of the ship;
Placement on the ship a device or substance which could destroy or cause the damage to the ship or cargo;
Destruction or serious damage as well as the interference to the navigational facilities.
The issue of the differences and similarities between piracy and maritime terrorism is quite controversial question before the experts which should be clarified. First of all, the piracy should be understood as the crime which is committed by the individuals in order to receive the financial gain. In contrast, the main aim of the maritime terrorism is to address the strategic political goals which requires the immediate reaction from the international community. The states and relating policymakers should have the proper understanding of these both notions in order to distinguish them clearly for the further elaboration of the efficient countermeasures to combat these actions. The United Nations is the main international body responsible for the maintenance of the peace, stability and security, which also introduce the legal rules and norms governing the relationships between the states. Although, the UN has no broad and precise definitions existing in the international level for such actions as terrorism and piracy. In particular, the Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) under Article 101 provides that piracy represents the act of violence or robbery performed in order to achieve personal goals against another ship or individual within high seas. Meanwhile, the notion of terrorism is provided in the Hague Conveniton for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft. Besides, the main difference between the piracy and maritime terrorism is that terrorists pursue the political aims, while the pirate considers all available instruments in order to return the financial investment.
With respect to the piracy, one should be aware of the «private end» criteria which is applicable for the determination of the piracy as the crime. This criteria should be considered in each case due to the fact that it assists in the definition of the universal piracy jurisdiction of the states. The courts in its judgment refer to the Article 101 of the UNCLOS in order to interpret the nature of piracy and its features. According to this provision, the pirates may commit the actions which have the political aim or pursue personal objectives. Some experts believe that pursuing the political objectives in form of the act of piracy actions will fall out of scope of the definition under the UNCLOS.
Given the fact that piracy is defined to some extent in the international convention, there is an opportunity before the participants of international relations for the interpretation of this action. However, the maritime terrorism is not stipulated under the similar international regulations. In contrast, such regional organizations as the International Maritime Bureau and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific puts the light over the definition of the maritime terrorism. According to them, this act should be understood as the undertaking of terrorist acts or activities exercised within the maritime zones and maritime environment. In addition, these terrorist acts should be made against vessels or certain platforms operating at sea as well as these actions could do the harm to the passengers of these vessels. Furthermore, the terrorist activities can take place against coastal facilities and settlement which cover tourist zones, towns and cities.
Besides the maritime zone is not considered the broad venue for the acitivty of the terrorism attacks. In contrast, only 2% of all attacks and offences taking place in the world are referred to the actions falling within the scope of maritime terrorism. In addition, such low index of terrorist attacks within maritime area is caused by several factors underlying the preparation to these offences. For example, the terrorists should owe the appropriate vessels and weapons which are applied in the water. Besides, the additional training is required for the participants of maritime terrorism attacks as the special training and skills are in need. Therefore, the terrorist groups which are not situated near the maritime zones, should have the external financing for the satisfaction of the needs necessary for the performance of terrorism attacks. Due to the financial issue, the majority of terrorism groups and units do not refer to the maritime terrorism.
Talking about maritime terrorist attacks, it is quite difficult to track them and to identify due to the similarity with piracy and absence of exact features applicable to this form of terrorism. However, the most evident are attack in Aden Harbour in Yemen in 2000, the ramming of Limburg in 2002 made by Al-Qaeda and attack in 2004 over Philippine ship. Nowadays, the pivotal territory where the maritime terrorism exists and could spread further is Israel and the nearest coastal zones. However, the international community in cooperation with the main organizations are seeking for the measures in order to prevent such activity for the following years.
Moreover, after the terrorist attack taking place in the United States of America in September 2001, the International Maritime Organization jointly with the USA have prepared the programs with the aim to combat the development of the maritime terrorism in the world. In this respect, in 2002 the states have drafted the International Ship and Post Facility Security Code which stipulates the measures applicable to the ships navigating in the maritime zones with the purpose to strengthen the overall security and peace. Thus, all the subjects operating in the jurisdictions of the particular state should have the personal identification number and the security alert system so that the state bodies in each state responsible for the high seas and other zones could find the ship and other vessels within the short period of time. Meanwhile, this code envisages the measures which should be taken by the states parties for the engancing of the safety of the ports and vessels navigating through these zones. Thus, the staff at the ports should pass through the special training which assist in further identification of perspective terrorist attacks and pursuing the individuals which perform such kind of activity.
Furthermore, the United States of America suggested in 2002 to introduce the Container Security Initiative which provide the state to exercise the maintenance over the safety of the cargo loaded on the ships and vessels as well as to conduct the assessment of the containers which represent the threat or suspicious attitude. In addition, the specialized system under the title Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism has been launched.
Under the targets of the maritime terrorism one should understand the areas situated in the high seas and other maritime zones which are regarded attractive for the terrorist. Nowadays, these targets are placed in Israel and other countries where the most important events within the international trade turnover take place. Given the fact that maritime terrorism requires the significant financing, the terrorists operating in the sea, choose the safe zones in order to avoid the mishaps related to the attacks. Thus, the targets of maritime terrorism as the straits and other zones which represent the significant political interest for the international community so that in case of attack to draw the interest of the states. In contrast to the activity of such international organizations as the UN and the IMO for the maintenance of the peace within the maritime zones, NATO also involves in this sphere of activity. In this regard, the organization regularly conducts the Operation Active Endeavourt within the Eastern Mediterranean on purpose to identify the ships and vessels which could be regarded as the terrorists in terms maritime attacks. Due to the fact the Israel is the most dangerous venue for the maritime attacks, NATO has entered special Tactical Mamorandum of Understanding with this state. Under the provisions of this agreement between the parties, the organization and the state should have the permanent exchange of the information about the threats relating to the maritime zones. According to the data provided by the International Maritime Bureau, the accidents of piracy attacks and terrorism activity is increasing within the Strait of Malacca. This way represents tha major target of the maritime terorrism as Malacca Strait is the waterway situated between three states – Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. This waterway is considered by the international community as the most important for the international trade volume as well as the busies one. Therefore, the abovementiooned coastal states are responsible for the maintenance of the peace within this territory due to the nearest situation of the terrorist groups and formations in this part of the world. However, the statistic shows that the efforts of the states can not decrease the attacks and offences in the Malacca Strait. Besides, the maritime terrorism attacks in this zone could do the harm to the global trade and shipping.
Having considered the principal international conventions governing the prevention of the maritime terrorism, the author concluded that current legislation should be amended in terms of the following paragraphs: 1) the definition of the maritime terrorism and its features should be specified; 2) the distinction between piracy and maritime terrorism should be clearly defined; 3) the effective mechanism for address of the peace and security in the maritime zone should be elaborated; 4) the states parties to the existing conventions should bear the higher and stricter level of the responsibility over the terrorism attacks happening in the personal jurisdiction. Thus, the issue of the maritime terrorism should not be ignored, especially what relates to the territory of the Southest Asia, Israel, etc. Due to the increased level of the terrorism offences taking place for the last year worldwide, the level of the maritime attacks could also increase, while the international community should have the efficient counter measures and instruments aimed to combat them.
REFERENCES
Articles/Books/Reports
Beckman, Robert C and J. Ashley Roach, Piracy And International Maritime Crimes In ASEAN (Edward Elgar, 2012) pp. 80-85
Chauvin, Christine, "Human Factors And Maritime Safety" (2011) 64 Journal of Navigation pp.22-34
McPherson, K., "Book Review: Piracy, Maritime Terrorism And Securing The Malacca Straits" (2007) 19 International Journal of Maritime History pp.42-50
Mukherjee, Proshanto K., "The ISM Code And The ISPS Code: A Critical Legal Analysis Of Two SOLAS Regimes" (2007) 6 WMU J Marit Affairs pp.37-42
Murphy, Martin N, Contemporary Piracy And Maritime Terrorism (IISS, 2007) pp. 65-78
Nordquist, Myron H et al, The Law Of The Sea Convention (Nijhoff, 2012) pp. 110-122
Nyman, Elizabeth, "Modern Piracy And International Law: Definitional Issues With The Law Of The Sea" (2011) 5 Geography Compass pp.68-70
Psarros, George Ad. et al, "On The Success Rates Of Maritime Piracy Attacks" (2011) 4 J Transp Secur pp. 22-28
Treaties
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, opened for signature 10 December 1982, 1833 UNTS 397 (entered into force 16 November 1994)
Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, opened for signature 1988, 1678 U.N.T.S. 221, 27 I.L.M. 668 (entered into force 1 March 1992)
Other
Digital.lib.washington.edu, (2015) https://digital.lib.washington.edu/dspace-law/bitstream/handle/1773.1/681/14PacRimLPolyJ743.pdf?sequence=1
Iccwbo.org, International Maritime Bureau | Fighting Commercial Crime | Products & Services | ICC - International Chamber Of Commerce (2015) http://www.iccwbo.org/products-and-services/fighting-commercial-crime/international-maritime-bureau/
Imo.org, FAQ On ISPS Code And Maritime Security (2015) http://www.imo.org/blast/mainframe.asp?topic_id=897
"Target Malacca Straits: Maritime Terrorism In Southeast Asia" [2015] Studies in Conflict & Terrorism <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100701329568?journalCode=uter20>
Un.org, International Legal Instruments - United Nations Action To Counter Terrorism (2015) http://www.un.org/en/terrorism/instruments.shtml
Un.org, UNCLOS - Table Of Contents (2015) http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/UNCLOS-TOC.htm
