Piracy and universal jurisdiction

This article will examine the history of piracy jure gentium and the law as it
currently stands, showing that piracy does not lie within the realm of universal
jurisdiction or international criminal law. The history component will separate
the rhetoric of ‘pirates’ and ‘piracy’ from the legal definition, a practice that is
often lacking in considerations of piracy jure gentium. The examination of the
current law will explore the codification of piracy in UNCLOS, particularly the
articulation of jurisdiction in Article 105 as it compares to the universal
jurisdiction afforded other jus cogens crimes. From this it will be clear that
piracy is not a crime of universal jurisdiction based on the heinousness of the
crime, as is the case with international crimes, but rather a crime of concurrent
municipal jurisdiction based on the stateless nature of the crime