Piracy - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: piracyPiracy
Piracy [fr. pirata, Lat.], the commission of those acts of robbery and violence upon the sea, which if committed upon land wold amount to felony. Pirates hold no commission or delegated authority from any sovereign or State, empowering them to attack others. They can, therefore, be only regarded in the light of robbers. They are, as Cicero has truly stated, the common enemies of all (communes hostes omnium); and the law of nations gives to every one the right to pursue and exterminate them without any previous declaration of war (see Piracy Jure Gentium, 1934, AC 586, where a frustrated attempt was held to be piracy by that law); but it is not allowed to kill them without trial, except in battle. Those who surrender or are taken prisoners must be brought before the proper magistrates, and dealt with according to law. By the ancient Common Law of England, piracy, if committed by a subject, was held to be a species of treason, being contrary to his natural allegiance; if by an alien, to ...
piracy
piracy pl: -cies 1 : an act of robbery esp. on the high seas ;specif : an illegal act of violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state see also aircraft piracy Article I of the Constitution in the back matter 2 a : the unauthorized copying, distribution, or use of another's production (as a film) esp. in infringement of a copyright [software ] b : the unauthorized use, interception, or receipt of encoded communications (as satellite cable programming) esp. to avoid paying fees for use [the statute's purpose is to proscribe the of programming signals "United States v. Harrell, 983 F.2d 36 (1993)"] 3 : the crime of committing piracy ...
aircraft piracy
aircraft piracy 1 : the hijacking of an aircraft esp. in flight ;specif : the act of seizing control of an aircraft by force, violence, threat, or intimidation with wrongful intent 2 : the felony of hijacking or seizing control of an aircraft called also air piracy ...
pirate
pirate : a person who commits piracy vb pi·rat·ed pi·rat·ing vt : to take or appropriate by piracy ;esp : to copy, distribute, or use without authorization esp. in infringement of copyright [the pirated software] [pirating cable signals] vi : to commit piracy compare bootleg ...
Capital offences
Capital offences, those crimes upon conviction of which the offender is condemned to be hanged. The only crimes now punishable with death are high treason; murder; destruction of H. M. Ships, arsenals, etc. (12 Geo. 3, c. 24); piracy when accompanied by attempted murder [(English) Piracy Act, 1837 (7 Wm. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 88) s. 2]. See PIRACY.Originally all felonies were capital, but early in the 19th century, mainly through the exertions of Sir Samuel Romilly, the severity of the law was mitigated by rapid steps in this respect. Larceny in a dwelling-house up to the value of 40s. was long a capital offence, with the result that juries, to save a prisoner's life, would often falsely find that valuable goods stolen were of the value of 39s.Sentence of death cannot be pronounced on or recorded against a young person under 18. [Children and Young Persons Act, 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5, c. 12), s. 53]...
Execution of criminals
Execution of criminals, must be performed by the legal officer-the sheriff, or his deputy. The Common Law mode of execution is by hanging, which until 1868 took place in public; but in that year the (English) Capital Punishment Amendment Act (31 & 32 Vict. c. 24), prescribed that the execution must take place within the walls of the prison, in presence of the sheriff, gaoler, chaplain, and surgeon of the prison, and such other officers of the prison as the sheriff requires, or allows. Public execution is, however, still necessary in the case of piracy with attempted murder. See PIRACY....
Nations, law of
Nations, law of. See INTERNATIONAL LAW. The principal offences against the law of nations are: (1) Violations of safe conducts; (2) Infringements of the rights of ambassadors; and (3) Piracy. See the works of Grotius, Vattel and others....
Special injunctions
Special injunctions, prohibitory orders or interdicts against acts of parties, such as waste, nuisance, piracy, etc. see INJUNCTION....
Plagiarist, or Plagiary
Plagiarist, or Plagiary, one who publishes the thoughts or writings of another as his own; if thoughts only, not expressed in the same or substantially the same words, there is not breach of copyright. See PIRACY OF WORKS....
Pirata est hostis humani generis
Pirata est hostis humani generis. 3 Inst. 113.-(A pirte is an enemy of the human race.) See PIRACY....
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