Does Anybody Know How To Prosecute A 21st Century Pirate?

As Somali pirate Abduhl Wali-i-Musi was ushered across American border in New York last night, in what will potentially be the first U.S. piracy trial in decades, the question lingers as to who is responsible for prosecuting the ancient crime, and how.

Somalia’s government hasn’t been recognized officially in almost two decades, and few states are willing to go through the financial and legal hurdles that accompany the persecution of a pirate. As a result, concrete charges against Wali-i-Musi have yet to be announced, and his trial in the US rests on what are described as “two obscure federal laws.”

Back in full force, piracy in the Gulf of Aden has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars and the impedance of streams of maritime traffic. And still there is little that can be done in terms of bringing guilty pirates to trial internationally. Hillary Clinton has vowed to work to freeze pirates’ assets, improve laws in Somalia, and beef up the shipping industry’s defenses, but has put little on the table as far as lawmaking goes.

As the Somali pirates’ ties to Al-Qaeda become more evident and more highly feared, it might be necessary to begin looking at piracy as both a type of terrorism and an outlet for terrorist influence—which would make prosecuting piracy clearer. “For this reason, it seems sensible that the United States and the international community adopt a new, shared legal definition that would recognize the link between piracy and terrorism. This could take the form of an act of Congress or, more broadly, a new jurisdiction for piracy and terrorism cases at the International Criminal Court,” piracy exper t Douglas R. Burgess Jr. wrote in a December New York Times op-ed.

It’s certainly too late to save what’s been lost from the dozens of attacks that have occurred this year alone. But this month’s attacks and the Somali pirates’ links to terrorist organizations should serve as strong motivation for the international community to enact regulations, and fast—or Wali-i-Musi’s trial could be a long, pointless, and embarrassing show of incompetence in defeating piracy.