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1. Jim Nicoll - Member

   MY COMMENT:
   As had to be expected the politicking and legal arguments come to the fore in this tragic incident. Jurisdiction over the case will depend on the postion of the vessels at the time of the fatal incident.

   Washington Post February / 19 / 2012

   The two Italians were part of a six-member security team on the cargo ship the Enrica Lexie, and are suspected of firing Wednesday on an Indian fishing boat they mistook for a pirate ship off Kerala state. Two fishermen were killed instantly.

   Italy’s ambassador to India and a delegation of experts from Italy’s foreign, defense and justice ministries arrived in the capital Sunday and discussed the case with Indian officials, the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.

   The Italian government maintains the case should be handled by its own judicial authorities “since the deeds happened in international waters on an Italian-flagged ship,” the statement said.

   The Italians contend that the presence of military personnel aboard the cargo ship is governed by an Italian law conforming to U.N. anti-piracy resolutions, and that such personnel are part of the Italian state and thus immune to the jurisdiction of foreign states.

   The meeting failed to yield agreement, the ministry said.

   Piracy has emerged as a major threat to merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, with Somalia-based pirates hijacking ships and crew for ransom.
   Several countries, including India, allow ship owners to deploy armed security guards on ships.

   Posted 2 months ago #

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