The danger of the world – piracy – history and contemporary

Abstract

Sea piracy, which consists of attacking ships and seas and robbing them, is treated by the international community as an act widely condemned by international law (customary and treaty obligations). This phenomenon, until recently, was actually analyzed only in the historical perspective. Nowadays, it again constitutes a real threat and a challenge in the sphere of security. The piracy of the sea has most likely appeared along with the development of shipping. Over the centuries, it developed under certain social, political and economic conditions. Over time, he was subject to numerous changes, adapting to the changing environment. Former methods and forms of attacks on ships have been replaced with new ones. What remained unchanged was the criminal nature of the activity of sea pirates and the operation for personal gain. Piracy over the centuries has changed beyond recognition and probably in the twenty-first century took the most brutal form. Contemporary piracy is one of the elements occurring in the seas and oceans, which significantly hinders the international community from safe navigation, guaranteed by international law. The renaissance of piracy is fostered by changes in the international situation throughout the world, which occurred at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. This production occurs in several regions of the world, but since 2008 it has intensified especially in the waters flowing around the Somalia coast.