WATERLOO – Dr. Patricia Goff, executive director of the Laurier-based Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) and a Laurier political science professor, will be in Washington, D.C. October 16-17 for a workshop to examine options in international law to prosecute pirates. 

The workshop will assemble experts in international criminal law, the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and special tribunals. Participants will look at international law solutions to piracy and will explore the central legal question: What to do with pirates? 

“In recent months, piracy has found its way onto the general public’s radar, largely due to the dramatic capture of the American captain of the Maersk Alabama off Somalia in April,” said Goff, who is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo. “While the number of incidents has increased, protecting against piracy is not new for commercial shippers. It is an ongoing problem in many regions of the world.” 

Workshop participants will discuss how private and public representatives can respond to criminal activity on the high seas, especially off the failed state of Somalia. Several countries, such as the U.S., Great Britain, France, India and China, are collaborating to patrol the corridor between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. 

“The UN Security Council has authorized extraordinary measures to allow these navies to act against pirates in sovereign Somali territory,” said Goff. “This military activity has a preventative purpose. Yet the real challenge arises in apprehending and prosecuting pirates.” 

The workshop will address several key questions: Can the crime of piracy be added to the jurisdiction of the ICC? How likely is it that the ICC might try pirates in the near future? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using third party national governments to apprehend pirates? What alternative governance options exist? What are the prospects for a special tribunal on piracy? 

Dr. Ramesh Thakur, distinguished fellow at CIGI and director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, will also attend the workshop. 

The workshop is organized by ACUNS (www.acuns.org), the American Society for International Law (ASIL) and the One Earth Future Foundation. It will be held at ASIL headquarters, Washington, D.C. It is a closed-door workshop; however, the following representatives will be available to speak to the news media before and after the event: 

Dr. Patricia Goff: pgoff@wlu.ca 

Elizabeth Andersen, executive director, ASIL: 1-202-939-6011 or eandersen@asil.org