The Enrica Lexie Incident and the Status of Anti-Piracy Security Personnel on Board

This article focuses on a specific issue that emerged in the Arbitral Award on the Enrica Lexie case delivered in May 2020. The dispute involved Italy and India in relation to the killings of Indian fishermen by Italian marines in the waters outside India. The incident raised several legal issues concerning the application of the law of the sea, the legal determination of anti-piracy actions by States and jurisdictional immunities. The purpose of this article is to focus on one specific issue that emerges from this case: the uncertain legal status of security personnel deployed on private vessels in relation to anti-piracy protection. The first part of the article shall consider the status of military personnel deployed on merchant ships for anti-piracy protection. The problem is central to the matter because, depending on the definition of their status, limitations on the exercise of jurisdiction by other States may emerge. The second part of this article discusses more broadly the status of military and private security personnel in actions that could be defined as ‘international policing or security’ activities, which should be better clarified through better international cooperation, exchange of information and clear rules. A more defined legal setting for anti-piracy activities would prevent possible future disputes in similar cases. Furthermore, it would be useful to have clearer rules that could be applied also to face other types of crimes that occur on the sea.