Maritime Counterproliferation Operations and the Rule of Law

Craig H. Allen

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9780275996987
• eBook ISBN: 9780275996994
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Allen examines the maritime counterproliferation activities of nations participating in the Proliferation Security Initiative, as set out in their Statement of Interdiction Principles. He explains the framework for conducting maritime interception activities, examines the importance of intelligence to PSI operations, and assesses the legal issues raised by those operations. The threat of WMD use by terrorist groups and rogue regimes has added new urgency to global security discussions. Responses to the dangers posed by WMD include the nonproliferation regime, safeguards for WMD materials while in transit, export controls, treaties on terrorism, Security Council resolutions, and the new Protocol to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation.
The existing nonproliferation regime will never, by itself, provide an adequate level of security. As a result, risk management strategies must include layered counterproliferation activities and consequence management. Counterproliferation measures may include maritime interdictions. The Proliferation Security Initiative, a cooperative undertaking launched in 2003, provides a framework for those interdictions. The framework was formalized in the Statement of Interdiction Principles. After providing an overview of the threats posed by WMD proliferation, this book surveys the nonproliferation regime and counterproliferation measures states have adopted to supplement it. It next provides an overview of maritime interception operations and the intelligence issues surrounding them, before turning to the laws governing such operations. It then examines each of the actions described in the PSI Statement of Interdiction Principles to assess their compliance with applicable laws. Finally, it looks at the laws that establish the responsibility of states for taking unwarranted counterproliferation actions against vessels.

Table of contents

• Contents
• FOREWORD BY SLADE GORTON
• PREFACE
• 1 Introduction: Deadly Cargoes
• 2 Empowered Malefactors: Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Undeterrable or Irrational Enemy
• 3 Grave Risks; Imperfect Protection: The WMD Nonproliferation Regime
• 4 A Coalition of the Concerned and Committed: Post-9/11 Multilateral Counterproliferation Initiatives
• 5 What’s Your Evidence? The Role of Intelligence in Maritime Counterproliferation Operations
• 6 Making WMD Transport Prohibitions Effective: A Primer on the Conduct of Maritime Security Operations
• 7 A Finely Wrought Balance: International Laws Applicable to Maritime Counterproliferation Operations
• 8 Preserving the Rule of Law: Legal Issues in PSI Interceptions and Boardings
• 9 Compensating the Innocent: State Responsibility and Liability for Unjustified Boardings
• 10 Conclusion
• APPENDIX A: Interdiction Principles for the Proliferation Security Initiative
• APPENDIX B: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001)
• APPENDIX C: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)
• APPENDIX D: Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Liberia Concerning Cooperation to Suppress the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Their Delivery Systems, and Related Materials by Sea
• APPENDIX E: Consolidated Text of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation ("SUA Convention"), 1988 and the Draft Proposed Protocol of Amendment, 2005
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX