A United States flagged cargo ship, carrying vital supplies for our military ope

Question

A United States flagged cargo ship, carrying vital supplies for our military operations abroad, is en route from India to Texas when it is attacked by Al-Qeada operatives hell bent on revenge. The ship is in the South Atlantic just 5 miles off the coast of South Africa. The pirates kill 22 US citizens and 4 Mexican citizens before burning and sinking the ship. The suspected attackers are caught while fleeing by the South African Coast Guard.

Who has jurisdiction over the terrorist attackers and why? (Be specific using the appropriate vocabulary)

Since this is an international incident, can they be tried before the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice? Why/why no

Explanation / Answer

South African government has jurisdiction over the terrorist attackers because territorial waters extend upto 12 nautical miles or 13.8 miles from the country's baseline as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In this case, since the cargo ship was in the South Atlantic just 5 miles off the coast of South Africa, so it was into the territorial waters of South Africa. In such a case, South African government has full jurisdiction rights over the terrorists.

Although this is an international incident, but these terrorists can only be tried before the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice if the South African government has no objections over the proceedings. South African government holds the exclusive rights to try the terrorists in the first place because the incident happened in the territorial waters of South Africa. However, if it feels that the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice can provide better justice, it has to issue a no objection certificate. Only then, the terrorists can be tried by the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.