Supervisors info:
Γεώργιος Τριανταφύλλου, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής της Νομικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
Χρίστος Μυλωνόπουλος, Καθηγητής της Νομικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
Ιωάννης Ανδρουλάκης, Λέκτωρ της Νομικής Σχολής του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
Summary:
This study primarily deals with the research and categorizing of crimes on board ships and aircraft as well as the evaluation of the effectiveness of the relevant suppression scheme, both at national and international level. The research is divided in two parts: First part is associated with the criminal jurisdiction over offences on board ships, while second part deals with crimes on board aircraft. In the first case, criminal powers may be exercised in State ports, οn maritime zones or on the high seas. A key international document in this respect is the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Crimes committed on a ship either moored or sailing in the coastal State's territorial waters are under the criminal jurisdiction of the flag State, apart from a few exceptions. Crimes committed on vessels sailing on the High Seas are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the flag State. However, in exceptional cases, there are grounds for an authorized visit or an authorized search on foreign ships, e.g. in the case of piracy on the high seas. Such cases are considered to be exceptions to the aforementioned rule. Crimes on board aircraft may be committed either in national or international airspace. A series of international criminal conventions such as the 1963 Tokyo - which established the flag State rule-, the 1970 Hague and the 1971 Montreal Convention, regulate this type of offences. These conventions have a uniform structure and they include the elements of the international crime that has been created by each one of them. At the same time, international suppression is modeled on the aut dedere aut judicare principle. States' criminal jurisdiction over "air" crimes can also be established under other international conventions, so there can be cases of concurrent application. This systematic international criminalization creates a grid of international criminal law with regard to these specific offenses. With a view to a more effective suppression of unlawful acts committed to more than one Nation or to places out of any jurisdiction, which may occur on ships and aircraft, international law, on the one hand, grants to States full discretion to establish their extraterritorial jurisdiction and, on the other hand, imposes the establishment of a minimum threshold of concurrent criminal jurisdiction for the same crime through international conventions.
Keywords:
international criminal jurisdiction, offences on board ships, offences on board aircraft, air terrorism, maritime safety, safety of air navigation, extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction
