India passed a Bill to provide an effective legal instrument to combat maritime piracy. The Bill provides for stringent punishment to those convicted of such crimes.
Highlights of the Bill
- The Bill enables Indian authorities to take action against piracy in the high seas. The Bill brings into law the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It applies to the sea beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from India’s coastline.
- The Bill defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention or destruction against a ship, aircraft, person or property, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft.
- Piracy also includes inciting and intentionally facilitating such acts of violence, and voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft.
- Committing an act of piracy will be punishable with: (i) life imprisonment; or (ii) death, if the act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death.
- Participating, organising, aiding, supporting, attempting to commit, and directing others to participate in an act of piracy will be punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment, and a fine.
Moving The Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that “ensuring maritime security is key to safeguarding India’s security and economic well-being.”
As he explained, the security of sea lanes of communication is critical as more than 90% of India’s trade takes place by sea routes and more than 80% of the country’s hydrocarbon requirements was sea-borne.
The Bill also addresses the issue of death penalty as an “exceptional case” and the quantum of punishments envisaged are in line with the gravity of offences.
In the absence of a specific law or a legal provision in the Indian Penal Code or the Criminal Procedure Code on piracy, this Bill would provide an effective legal instrument to combat maritime piracy. It would enable us to discharge our obligations under the UNCLOS which we had signed in 1982 and ratified in 1995
As Minister S Jaishankar further added, said between 2008 and 2011, there have been 27 maritime incidents in which 288 Indian nationals were involved. Between 2014 and 2022, there were 19 piracy cases in which 155 Indian crew members were involved.
Regarding suggestions about having a standard operating procedure for better enforcement, the minister said the suggestion is well taken as it would help in its enforcement. He said designated courts will be set up in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
In similar news, six months after the UN Security Council adopted a text compelling Gulf of Guinea countries to criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea, Cameroon adopted a law to tackle piracy and improve safety of maritime navigation within its waters.
President Paul Biya signed the law on December 27, making Cameroon the second country in the region to launch such a legal framework on suppression of piracy and maritime offenses. The first one was Nigeria, which adopted a similar law back in 2019.
Key Issues and Analysis
- Under the Bill, if a person, while committing an act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death, he will be punished with death. This implies a mandatory death penalty for such offences. The Supreme Court has held that mandatory death penalty for any offence is unconstitutional as it violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. However, Parliament has passed laws providing for mandatory death penalty for some offences.
- The Bill provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years if a person participates in an act of piracy. Committing an act of piracy (which includes voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft) is punishable with life imprisonment. As these circumstances may overlap, it is unclear how the punishment would be determined in such cases.
- The Bill will apply to all parts of the sea adjacent to and beyond the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline. The question is whether the Bill should cover the EEZ also, that is the area between 12 nautical miles and 200 nautical miles (from the coastline of India).
