Sea piracy is one of the oldest concepts present in the international law. It has been talked about since the 1400’s. Recently this issue has remerged and has been threating international safety and security along with trade and commerce. The main affected areas are the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia and Yemen. Between 2006 and 2010 nearly 1600 ships were attacked worldwide and securing goods of value reaching millions of dollars according to the ICC commercial crimes service department. This paper deals with the existing legal regime. This article mainly focuses on the United Nations Convention on Law of Sea, 1982 and Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, 1988 along with understanding the role that international institutions play in combating piracy.

Keywords: Piracy, UNCLOS, SUA Convention, IMO, IMB, Somalian Piracy.

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