Kenyan Appeal Court Clears Obstacles To Somali Piracy Trials

Kenya's Appeal Court ruled last week that the country's criminal laws allowed the trial of any international crime in which the East African nation has an interest, an effective rebuff to an earlier lower court ruling outlawing
piracy trials.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of Kenya's second highest court effectively set aside a ruling in 2010, which stopped the trial of
nine Somali piracy suspects.
The Kenyan Appeal Court ruled that irrespective of the nationalities of the suspects, the courts of any state were under obligation

Kenya's Appeal Court ruled last week that the country's criminal laws allowed the trial of any international crime in which the East African nation has an interest, an effective rebuff to an earlier lower court ruling outlawing
piracy trials.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of Kenya's second highest court effectively set aside a ruling in 2010, which stopped the trial of
nine Somali piracy suspects.
The Kenyan Appeal Court ruled that irrespective of the nationalities of the suspects, the courts of any state were under obligation
to try suspects of international crimes.
During their trial, the Somali piracy suspects through an attorney, argued the Kenyan courts lacked the jurisdiction to try
crimes committed in the high seas or in Somalia.
The ruling by the Kenyan High Court threw the arrest and prosecution of piracy suspects into disarray, leading to a near suspension
of the piracy trials.
“Bringing to justice perpetrators of international crimes is in the interest of every state,’’ the appeal court judges ruled on Thursday.
They identified such crimes as apartheid, human trafficking, piracy and genocide.
The subject of international jurisdiction remains controversial especially amongst the African countries, whose governments feel
they are being unfairly targeted under such sweeping international laws.
On the subject of piracy, the Appeal Court held that Kenyans suffered from the effects of piracy through high costs on imports
as a result of high freight and insurance costs. (PANA/NAN)