|
Hostis Humani Generis
(Latin for 'an enemy of mankind') is a legal term of art that originates in admiralty law. Before the adoption of public international law, pirates and slavers were generally held to be beyond legal protection and so could be dealt with by any nation, even one that had not been directly attacked. A comparison can be made between this concept and the common law "writ of outlawry", which declared a person outside the king's law, a literal out-law, subject to violence and execution by anyone. The ancient Roman civil law concept of proscription, and the status of conveyed by proscription may also be similar. Background Perhaps the oldest of the laws of the sea is the prohibition of piracy, as the peril of being set upon by pirates, who are not motivated by national allegiance, is shared by the vessels and mariners of all nations, and thus represents a crime upon all nations. Since classical antiquity, pirates have been held to be individuals waging private warfare, a private ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire. It has greatly influenced many languages, Latin influence in English, including English, having contributed List of Latin words with English derivatives, many words to the English lexicon, particularly after the Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England, Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons and the Norman Conquest. Latin Root (linguistics), roots appear frequently in the technical vocabulary used by fields such as theology, List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names, the sciences, List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes, medicine, and List of Latin legal terms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admiralty Court
Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, held in West Register House in Edinburgh, indicate that sittings were a regular event by at least 1556. Judges were styled "Judge Admiral" and received appointment at the hands of the Scottish High Admiral to hear matters affecting the Royal Scots Navy as well as mercantile, privateering and prize money disputes. From 1702 the judge of the court was also authorised to appoint deputies to hear lesser matters or to deputise during his absence. The Scottish court's workload was small until the mid-eighteenth century, with judges hearing no more than four matters in each sitting. After the 1750s the volume of cases rose until by 1790 it was necessary to maintain a daily log of decisions. The growth in caseload was related to increasing dispute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Yoo
John Choon Yoo (; born July 10, 1967) is a South Korean-born American legal scholar and former government official who serves as the Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Yoo became known for his legal opinions concerning executive power, warrantless wiretapping, and the Geneva Conventions while serving in the George W. Bush administration, during which he was the author of the controversial "Torture Memos" in the War on Terror. As the deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the Department of Justice, Yoo wrote the Torture Memos to determine the legal limits for the torture of detainees following the September 11 attacks. The legal guidance on interrogation authored by Yoo and his successors in the OLC were rescinded by President Barack Obama in 2009. Some individuals and groups called for the investigation and prosecution of Yoo under various anti-torture and anti-war crimes statutes. A report by the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aut Dedere Aut Judicare
In law, the principle of ''aut dedere aut judicare'' (Latin for "either Extradition, extradite or Prosecution, prosecute") refers to the obligation, legal obligation of Sovereign state, states under public international law to prosecute persons who commit serious crime against international law, international crimes where no other state has requested extradition. However, the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, Lockerbie case demonstrated that the requirement to extradite or prosecute is not a rule of customary international law. The obligation arises regardless of the extraterritorial nature of the crime and regardless of the fact that the perpetrator and victim may be of Alien (law), alien nationality.Hall, Stephen, ''International Law'' (2006) 2nd ed., Butterworths Tutorial Series, LexisNexis Butterworths It is generally included as part of international treaties dealing with an array of transnational crimes to facilitate bringing perpetrators to justice. Rationale The rationale fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protection Of Diplomats Convention
The Protection of Diplomats Convention (formally, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons, Including Diplomatic Agents) is a United Nations anti-terrorism treaty that codifies some of the traditional principles on the necessity of protecting diplomats. Adoption The convention was adopted as a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on 14 December 1973 in response to a series of kidnappings and murders of diplomatic agents, beginning in the 1960s. It was drafted by the International Law Commission (ILC), which began work on it in 1971. It was adopted within two years, which was exceptionally fast by ILC standards. Content Parties to the convention agree to criminalize the commission of murders or kidnappings of internationally protected persons as well as violent attacks against the official premises, private accommodation, or means of transport of such persons. Parties to the convention also agree to crimina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Hijacking
Aircraft hijacking (also known as airplane hijacking, skyjacking, plane hijacking, plane jacking, air robbery, air piracy, or aircraft piracy, with the last term used within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States) is the Crime, unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. Dating from the earliest of hijackings, most cases involve the Pilot (aeronautics), pilot being forced to fly according to the hijacker's demands. There have also been incidents where the hijackers have overpowered the flight crew, made unauthorized entry into the cockpit and suicide attacks, flown them into buildings—most notably in the September 11 attacks—and in some cases, planes have been hijacked by the official pilot or co-pilot, such as with Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702. Unlike carjacking or sea piracy, an aircraft hijacking is not usually committed for robbery or theft. Individuals driven by personal gain often divert planes to destinations where they are not planni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banditry
Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, either as an individual or in groups. Banditry is a vague concept of criminality and in modern usage can be synonymous with gangsterism, brigandage, marauding, terrorism, piracy, and thievery. Definitions The term ''bandit'' (introduced to English via Italian around 1776) originates with the early Germanic legal practice of outlawing criminals, termed ''*bamnan'' (English ban). The legal term in the Holy Roman Empire was ''Acht'' or '' Reichsacht'', translated as " Imperial ban". In modern Italian, the equivalent word "bandito" literally means banned or a banned person. The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (NED) defined "bandit" in 1885 as "one who is proscribed or outlawed; hence, a lawless desperate marauder, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maritime Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, and vessels used for piracy are called pirate ships. The earliest documented instances of piracy were in the 14th century BC, when the Sea Peoples, a group of ocean raiders, attacked the ships of the Aegean civilization, Aegean and Mediterranean civilisations. Narrow channels which funnel shipping into predictable routes have long created opportunities for piracy, as well as for privateering and commerce raiding. Historic examples of such areas include the waters of Gibraltar, the Piracy in the Strait of Malacca, Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Piracy off the coast of Somalia, Gulf of Aden, and the English Channel, whose geographic structures facilitated pirate attacks. The term ''piracy'' generally refers to maritime piracy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle. The discovery of Ascension by Joao da Nova in 1501 was described by two Portuguese chroniclers who probably misnamed it as Conception Island. The popular idea that Ascension was rediscovered by Afonso de Albuquerque in 1503 is probably wrong, Ascension having been long confused with Trindade and Martim Vaz, Trindade. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922 and was an important refueling stop for ships a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duress In English Law
Duress in English law is a complete common law defence, operating in favour of those who commit crimes because they are forced or compelled to do so by the circumstances, or the threats of another. The doctrine arises not only in criminal law but also in civil law, where it is relevant to contract law and trusts law. Contract law Duress involves illegitimate threats. The common law long allowed a claim if duress was of a physical nature. So long as a threat is just one of the reasons a person enters an agreement, even if not the main reason, the agreement may be avoided. In '' Barton v Armstrong'' Mr Armstrong tried to "strong-arm" Mr Barton into paying him a large golden parachute to exit a business by getting his goons to make death threats to Barton's family. Even though Barton was tough, and would have probably done the payout regardless, he could avoid the agreement. Only late in the 20th century was escape allowed if the threat involved illegitimate economic harm. A thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Custom Of The Sea
A custom of the sea is a custom said to be practiced by the officers and crew of ships and boats in the open sea, as distinguished from maritime law, which is a distinct and coherent body of law governing maritime questions and offenses. Among these customs was the practice of cannibalism among shipwrecked survivors, by the drawing of lots to decide who would be killed and eaten so that the others might survive. Traditional rules for survival cannibalism among sailors This specific custom, also known as "the delicate question" or "the proper tradition of the sea", specified that in case of disaster, when there was not enough food for the survivors, corpses could be eaten. If "there were no bodies available for consumption, lots were drawn to determine who would be sacrificed to provide food for the others". As long as the lottery was fair, giving everyone an equal risk of dying to become food for others, this was considered "entirely legal" and justified by the circumstances. " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yard-arm
A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used on square rigged sails. In addition, for some decades after square sails were generally dispensed with, some yards were retained for deploying wireless (radio) aerials and signal flags. Parts of the yard ; Bunt : The short section of the yard between the ''slings'' that attach it to the mast. ; Quarters : The port and starboard quarters form the bulk of the yard, extending from the slings to the fittings for the lifts and braces. ; Yardarms : The outermost tips of the yard: outboard from the attachments for the lifts. Note that these terms refer to stretches of the same spar, not to separate component parts. Controlling the yard The yard can rotate around the mast to allow the direction of the vess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
