The phenomenon of maritime piracy has terrorized the seas since time immemorial. The number of attacks worldwide having increased more than tenfold in the past two decades, the pirate menace has always constituted a challenge not only for seafaring nations, indiscriminately exposed to the peril of being set upon by these ‘pernicious people’. Rather, as long as the oceans have been plied for commerce, it has affected all those who benefit from seafaring — so, virtually the international community as a whole. Hence, from this perspective good reasons may indeed exist for pirates to be labelled ‘Hostis Humani Generis’ (enemies of mankind), a concept credited to the Roman lawyer, statesman, and political theorist Marcus Tullius Cicero.    «

The phenomenon of maritime piracy has terrorized the seas since time immemorial. The number of attacks worldwide having increased more than tenfold in the past two decades, the pirate menace has always constituted a challenge not only for seafaring nations, indiscriminately exposed to the peril of being set upon by these ‘pernicious people’. Rather, as long as the oceans have been plied for commerce, it has affected all those who benefit from seafaring — so, virtually the international community...    »