Page 78 - Law of Peace, Volume ,

Pam 27-161-1

of takeoff until the moment when the landing run ends.
doer who commits violence aboard such an aircraft in flight, no criminal
Title 49, Section 1472.
of this character shall ever find sanctuary anywhere- in the world, no
(i) (1) Whoever commits or attempts to commit aircraft piracy, as matter how deviously he may seek to evade retribution for his deeds.,
herein defined, shall be punished- The parties to this convention have declared that this despicable criminal
(A) by death if the verdict of the jury shall so recommend, or, shall be pursued without respite. 161
in the case of a plea of guilty, or a plea of not guilty where the defendant
has waived a trial by jury, if the court in its discretion shall so order; or 4-14. Jurisdiction Over Vessels and Individuals
(B) by imprisonment for not less than twenty years, if the Thereon. a. The importance of international norms com-
death penalty is not imposed. prising the Law of the Sea becomes increasingly apparent,
(2) As used in this subsection, the term "aircraft piracy" means as there is now under way a signif~cant struggle over the
any seizure or exercise of control, by force or violence or threat of force control and use of the world's oceans. There exists an
or violence and with wrongful intent, of an aircraft within the special
aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. ongoing debate over whether navigation, fishing, and the
6) Whoever, while aboard an aircraft within the special aircraft ju- extraction of minerals can be engaged in freely by all states
risdiction of the United States, assaults, intimidates, or threatens any in all parts of the oceans, or whether countries can carve
Mt crew member or hght attendant (iiluding any steward or steward- out areas of the sea for their exclusive use and control.
ess) of such aircraft, so as to interfere with the performance of such There is agreement that a state has jurisdiction over its
member or attendant of his duties or lessen the ability of such member
or attendant to perform his duties, shall be fined not more than $10,000 "internal waters" and an area of the sea adjoining the
or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both. Whoever in the coastline, the "territorial sea." There is no agreement,
commission of any such act uses a deadly or dangerous weapon shall be however, as to how wide an area may be lawfully claimed
imprisoned for any term of years or for life. as territorial sea. The United States, though claiming a ter-
(k) (1) Whoever, while aboard an aircraft withiin the special aircraft ritorial sea of three miles, has indicated it might accept a
jurisdiction of the United States, commits an act which, if committed
within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United twelve-mile limit. In contrast, while the claims of most
States, as defmed in section 7 of Title 18, would be in violation of [sec- states do not exceed twelve miles, a few countries claim
tions defming, inter alia, murder, robbery, assault] shall be punished as an area as extensive as 200 miles. Beyond the territorial
provided therein. sea, there are claims to more limited use of the oceans,
(2) Whoever, while aboard an aircraft within the special aircraft with respect to so-called contiguous zones, and beyond
jurisdiction of the United States, commits an act, which, ifcommitted in
the District of Columbia would be in violation of section 9 of the Act en- these zones, with respect to portions of the seabed such as
titled "An Act for the preservation of the public peace and the protec- the continental shelf. Moreover, though an older body of
tion of property within the District of Columbia," approved July 29, law governs many of the uses of the high seas, new law is
1892, as amended (D.C. Code, sec. 22-1 112), shall be punished as pro- being formulated with respect to the bed of the deep sea.
vided therein.
(1) The 1958 Geneva Conference on the Law of the
c. Sabotage. The Sabotage Convention 160 was adopted Sea has had 'a significant impact on the development of
by a Conference on International Air Law at Montreal in legal norms in this area. The conventions emanating from
1971. It entered into force on January 26, 1973, and as of that conference variously codified portions of the custom-
January 1,1975, had 59 signatories. The scope of the con- ary law or created new law. Not all of the problems that
vention is described by the head of the U.S. delegation to were then perceived were solved by the conventions,
the conference as follows: however, The conference was unable, for example, to
Although this convention is similar to the Hijacking Convention in agree on the breadth of the territorial sea. Moreover,
many respects, it is significantly distinct: It does not, basically, require technological developments have created new problems
states to define any new offenseeit covers acts which already are com-
about the exploitation of the seabed. 162
mon crimes; it does not, for the most part, establish new crimes to fall (2) In 1970, the General Assembly of the United
within the extradition process-most of the acts already are extraditable
crimes. These were important elements of the Hijacking Convention. It Nations decided to convene a third conference on the law
might be said that states could punish offenders or extradite them with- of the sea in 1973. Accordingly, the taskof preparing draft
out this convention. articles was assigned to the Assembly's Committee on the
What this convention does is to impose an obligation on states requir- Peaceful Uses of the Seabed and the Ocean Floor Beyond
ing them to prosecute or extradite offenders. It serves as a waning to
any person who contemplates such acts that the intemational com- the Limits of National Jurisdiction. The conference,
munity has responded with unanimity to condemn such acts. In this scheduled for 1973, actually convened in 1974 in
respect it is like the Hijacking Convention. Caracas, Venezuela. As a result of little substantive
And in an important respect this convention does more than the Hi- progress, further sessions were held in 1975 and 1976. In
jacking Convention. It covers acts against aircraft in a state's domestic 1976 the conference issued a Revised Single Negotiating
service, even when the acts take place wholly withiin that same state, if Text and recommended that another session be held in
the offender escapes to another state. While this element is not critical
for the Hijacking Convention, it is crucial for the effectiveness of the
convention we have concluded, because of the possibility that offenders 161. 65 Dep't State Bull. 464 (1971).
may escape before they are discovered. This convention declares that no 162. The conventions are: Convention on the Territorial Sea and
one who sabotages a civil aircraft-whether in domestic or intemational the Contiguous Zone, 516 U.N.T.S. 205, 15 U.S.T. 1606; Convention
service-no one who places a bomb on board such an aircraft, no evil- on the High Seas, 450 U.N.T.S. 82, 13 U.S.T. 2312; Convention on the
Continental Shelf, 49 U.N.T.S. 31 1, 15 U.S.T. 471; and Convention on
160. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas, 17
Safety of Civil Aviation, T.I.A.S. 7570 (Documentary Supplement). U.S.T. 138. 559 U.N.T.S. 285.