UDK: 94(37):351.81(100)

Irina V. Khorkova - Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Russian University of Transport (MIIT), Moscow, Russia

Abstract. Nowadays a major challenge in international transport security is to combat pirate attacks on merchant sea and river vessels. However, piracy itself has existed for centuries, as well as a fight of the global community against it. In addition to military solution of the problem, there have always been the attempts to regulate it legally, dating back to the time of ancient Roman hegemony in the Mediterranean. There have been considered and evaluated the legislative measures taken by the Roman state to combat the dominance of pirates at the end of the Republican period. Using a broad historical backdrop there has been demonstrated the necessity to enact laws against organized pirate squadrons in Severe Cilicia (today’s Turkey). There have been analyzed two main laws passed by the Roman Senate against pirates, namely the Lex de piratis persequendis (Law on the Prosecution of Pirates) of 101–100 BC and the Lex Gabinia (Gabinian Law) of 68 BC, which granted emergency dictatorial powers to the commander Gnaeus Pompey to organize the fight against pirates. Legal measures also included the resettlement policy undertaken by Pompey after the defeat of the Cilician pirates. There has been concluded that the legislative measures against piracy had a generally positive impact on the overall situation in the Mediterranean basin during the period under review.

Keywords: history of Ancient Rome; ancient Roman jurisprudence; ancient Roman maritime trade; ancient Roman maritime law; piracy; laws on prosecution of pirates.

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Khorkova I.V. The legal aspect of fight against piracy in Ancient Rome// Transport law and security. 2026; (1(57)):193―200.