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Abstract
Acts of maritime piracy continue to occur in Southeast Asia. These attacks represent a continuing threat to sea-based trade in a region which is vitally important to global shipping. While piracy is defined under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) this convention does not set out a legal regime for prosecuting pirates, nor does it give guidance on sentencing, or even require states to enact a piracy law. This means that it is the prosecuting state’s right and responsibility to determine the laws and sentences that apply in cases of piracy brought before its courts. Indonesia does not have an Anti-Piracy Law, and as a result, pirates prosecuted in Indonesian courts are charged under specific sections of the Criminal Code instead. This state-by-state approach has led to wide discrepancies in the sentences handed down to pirates in the region. This article takes account of international law and domestic Indonesian legislation as it relates to piracy. It gives detailed attention to Indonesia’s ‘anti-piracy’ provisions, and provides a unique, new insight on how Indonesia’s judicial system treats the perpetrators by examining the court documents in a number of separate piracy cases. The authors conclude that sentences imposed by Indonesian courts are overly lenient compared with those from neighbouring countries, such as for example Malaysia and Singapore, and they suggest that Indonesia’s anti-piracy legal regime would be boosted by enacting a Piracy Law.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 217-232 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Australian Journal of Asian Law |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 3 Jun 2019 |
Keywords
- Maritime security
- maritime piracy
- ASEAN
- UNCLOS
- Indonesia
- Indonesian Law
- Transnational Organized crime
- prosecution
- sentencing
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Maritime Challenges & Blue Economy Opportunities
Chapsos, I. (Speaker)
28 Nov 2017Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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London School for Public Relations - Jakarta
Chapsos, I. (Visiting researcher)
1 Oct 2017 → 25 Feb 2022Activity: Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external academic institution
Research output
- 9 Citations
- 2 Article
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Illegal Fishing and Fisheries Crime as a Transnational Organized Crime in Indonesia
Chapsos, I. & Hamilton, S., 15 Sept 2019, In: Trends in Organized Crime. 22, 3, p. 255-273 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile58 Citations (Scopus)1462 Downloads (Pure) -
Maritime security in Indonesia: Towards a comprehensive agenda?
Chapsos, I. & Malcolm, J. A., Feb 2017, In: Marine Policy. 76, p. 178–184Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile30 Citations (Scopus)908 Downloads (Pure)
Profiles
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Ioannis Chapsos
- Research Centre for Peace and Security - Assistant Professor Research
Person: Teaching and Research