Arrest, Detention and Transfer of Piracy Suspects: A Critical Appraisal of the German Courier Case Decision

Andreone, Gemma /Bevilacqua, Giorgia/Cataldi, Giuseppe/Cinelli, Claudia, Insecurity at Sea: Piracy and Other Risks to Navigation, Naples, 2013

27 Pages Posted: 21 Dec 2014

See all articles by Anna Petrig

Anna Petrig

University of Basel - Faculty of Law

Date Written: July 31, 2013

Abstract

This paper discusses human rights issues arising when piracy suspects are arrested and detained at sea by patrolling naval States and later transferred to third States for their criminal prosecution. The analysis turns on the Courier case decided by a German first instance administrative court - one of the first domestic decisions measuring arrest and detention of alleged pirates at sea against the requirements flowing from the right to liberty and analyzing the compatibility of transfers of piracy suspects to third States for prosecution in light of the principle of non-refoulement. It is argued that the court’s reasoning regarding procedural safeguards applicable to piracy suspects deprived of their liberty, specifically the right to be brought promptly before a judge, is not necessarily in line with how the right to liberty stipulated in Article 5 ECHR and Article 9 ICCPR is - or should be - interpreted. Meanwhile, the court seemed ready to critically assess the transfer of the alleged suspect to Kenya for prosecution in terms of the prohibition of refoulement, despite the pressure arising from the catch-and-release practice and the lack of prosecution venues in the realm of counter-piracy operations.

Keywords: piracy, piracy suspects, arrest, detention, transfer, Courier case, human rights, law enforcement, human rights at sea

Suggested Citation

Petrig, Anna, Arrest, Detention and Transfer of Piracy Suspects: A Critical Appraisal of the German Courier Case Decision (July 31, 2013). Andreone, Gemma /Bevilacqua, Giorgia/Cataldi, Giuseppe/Cinelli, Claudia, Insecurity at Sea: Piracy and Other Risks to Navigation, Naples, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2539072

Anna Petrig (Contact Author)

University of Basel - Faculty of Law ( email )

Peter Merian-Weg 8
Basel, 4002
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://ius.unibas.ch/de/personen/anna-petrig/

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