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The Interception of Vessels on the High Seas: Contemporary Challenges to the Legal Order of the Oceans: 43
Author(s): Efthymios Papastavridis (Author)
- Publisher: Hart Publishing
- Publication Date: 1 Mar. 2013
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 402 pages
- ISBN-10: 184946183X
- ISBN-13: 9781849461832
Book Description
The principal aim of this book is to address the international legal questions arising from the ‘right of visit on the high seas’ in the twenty-first century. This right is considered the most significant exception to the fundamental principle of the freedom of the high seas (the freedom, in peacetime, to remain free of interference by ships of another flag). It is this freedom that has been challenged by a recent significant increase in interceptions to counter the threats of international terrorism and WMD proliferation, or to suppress transnational organised crime at sea, particularly the trafficking of narcotics and smuggling of migrants. The author questions whether the principle of non-interference has been so significantly curtailed as to have lost its relevance in the contemporary legal order of the oceans. The book begins with an historical and theoretical examination of the framework underlying interception. This historical survey informs the remainder of the work, which then looks at the legal framework of the right of visit, contemporary challenges to the traditional right, interference on the high seas for the maintenance of international peace and security, interferences to maintain the ‘bon usage’ of the oceans (navigation and fishing), piracy j’ure gentium’and current counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, the problems posed by illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, interdiction operations to counter drug and people trafficking, and recent interception operations in the Mediterranean Sea organised by FRONTEX.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“One of the main contributions of Papastavridis’ study is to approach from a theoretical and historical viewpoint issues which are often left to practitioners.” —European Journal of International Law, Volume 25
“The Interception of Vessels on the High Seas is a useful scholarly addition to the maritime security literature…a highly competent survey of contemporary practice.” —The Irish Yearbook of International Law
“These works of high scholarship provoke serious thought on neglected subjects.” —Frontline Magazine, October 31 2014 (review of this work and ‘The Law and Practice of Piracy at Sea’)
About the Author
Efthymios Papastavridis is a part-time Lecturer, University of Thrace, Faculty of Law and Research Fellow at the Academy of Athens. He was appointed Director of the 2012 Centre for Studies and Research in International Law and International Relations (English-Speaking Section), The Hague Academy of International Law.
