in a British ship (6) In a series of cases also(7)
the courts have been at pains to define the meaning
of the term piracy in the risks clause of a policy of
marine insurance, (8) making it clear that the term as
there used had a special meaning which might or might
•
not coincide with ita meaning as used in other
connexions (9) Finally, even when specifically con-
sidering cases of piracy "jure gentium", the courts
have aparently purported to give their own definition
of it. Even so, had they always been content, as was
Lord Blackburn in Re Tiynan (supra note 4), (10) simply
to decide that the acts in question in the case before
them amounted to piracy jure gentium, it would be
permissible to suppose that they had not necessarily
intended to decide that only those acts constituted
piracy by the law of nations. But in fact the courts
appear on more than one occasion to have purported
to give a complete definition, and on two at least
of these occasions they ap ear to have virtually
identified piracy with robbery on the high seas and
to
66
6. The ordinary rule is that an indictment wil: not lie in an English court for an offence committed at sea beyond the limits of territorial waters on board a foreign vessel by a foreigner unless it be piracy jure gentium see R v. Keyn (1876. 2 Ex. D.63) R v. Anderson (1868, L.F. 1. c.C.R. 161, 169). see note 5.
nd
7 Several are mentioned in the course of this memorandum.
8. Such aa
"warranted free of capture seizure and de- tention ..... or any attempt thereat, piracy ex- cepted.....
9. See e.g. Republic of Bolivia oase (supra note 4).at p.797-8
10.de said (p.689) that what was done by the prisoners
was "taking the ship for plunder, which would be "piracy jure gentium"
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