9. Piracy.—
While the majority of offenses under maritime law only differ from like offenses on land in respect of locality, piracy is confined to the water. Pirates are enemies of all mankind and the offense is against the universal laws of society. There is a piracy, therefore, by the law of nations and those guilty of it are subject to pursuit, seizure and punishment by the vessels of every nation. There is also a statutory piracy which is punishable only within the limits of the jurisdiction which defines it. The pirate by the law of nations is an outlaw whom any nation may capture and punish. He is one who, without legal authority from any state, attacks a ship with the intention to appropriate what belongs to it; in other words, his offense is that of depredation on the high seas without authority from any sovereign state. All private, unauthorized maritime warfare is piratical because it is incompatible with the peace and order of the high seas. It is not necessary that the motive be plunder or that the depredations be directed against the vessels of all nations indiscriminately; it is only essential that the spoliation, or intended spoliation be felonious, that is, done willfully and without legal authority or lawful excuse. In cases of this piracy by international law, it is of no importance, for purposes of jurisdiction, where or against whom, the offense is committed; such pirates may be tried and punished and the ship captured and condemned wherever found. Apart from international law, any government may declare offenses on its own vessels to be piracy and such offenses will be exclusively punishable by it like other crimes. St. Clair v. U. S., 154 U. S. 134, may be examined in regard to an instance of statutory piracy; while the Ambrose Light, 25 Fed. 408, is a very learned and authoritative opinion on the modern views of piracy under international law.