Compensation for pirates:

(2015) THE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW. 21(3). p.182-189

In December 2014, the European Court of Human Rights decided in Ali Samatar and Others v. France and Hassan and Others v. France that France had violated the rights of pirate suspects and needed to pay a compensation to these ‘victims’. Both cases concerned similar situations, where Somali pirate suspects were held in custody for too long before they were formally charged or brought before a judge. According to some, the judgments are completely in line with the European practice of human rights protection, yet others consider them to be totally incomprehensible and disastrous for the global fight against piracy. It indeed needs to be stressed that prosecution and punishment of piracy is already a difficult story, so additional impediments should be avoided. The European Court of Human Rights needs to look at the bigger picture and has to be conscious of the negative effects of rigorous jurisprudence in piracy cases. After all, the stern attitude of the Court may not only cause more difficulties in the fight against piracy, but can also lead to bigger excesses with regard to human rights.