About

• The Maritime Anti Piracy Act was passed by the Parliament in 2022 to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which provides a framework for combating piracy and armed robbery at sea. 
  • India ratified UNCLOS in 1995.

Highlights of the Act

Definition of Piracy

• The Act defines piracy as “any illegal act of violence, detention, or destruction committed against a ship, aircraft, person or property, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft”.  
• The provisions of this Act shall apply to the high seas.
  • For the purposes of this clause, high seas include the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, the EEZ of any other State, as well as all waters beyond the jurisdiction of any other State, i.e. international waters. 

Arrest of persons and seizure of ship and property.

• The authorised personnel may, either generally or on suspicion that a ship is engaged in piracy on the high seas, board such ship and arrest the persons or seize the pirate ship and property on board.

Offences and Penalties

• An act of piracy will be punishable with: 

(i) imprisonment for life; or 

(ii) death, if the act of piracy causes or attempts to cause death.   

• Offences will be considered extraditable. 
  • This means that the accused can be transferred to any country for prosecution with which India has signed an extradition treaty.  
  • In the absence of such treaties, offences will be extraditable on the basis of reciprocity between the countries.

Jurisdiction of the Courts 

• The central government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, may notify Sessions Courts as the Designated Courts under this Act.  
• The Designated Court will try offences committed by: 

(i) a person in the custody of the Indian Navy or Coast Guard, regardless of his nationality, (ii) a citizen of India, a resident foreign national in India, or a stateless person.  

• Warships and government-owned ships employed for non-commercial purposes will not be under the jurisdiction of the Court.

Why in News?

• Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said that the Maritime Anti Piracy Act, enacted in 2022, has been a “great enabler”, and is one of the reasons why we have been successful, said on the new law as the Indian Navy completed 100 days of ‘Operation Sankalp’ in the Gulf of Aden to the North Arabian Sea and to the East Coast of Somalia.