Maritime search and rescue in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022: an Act of deterrence?

Abstract

This article examines the criminalization of humanitarian search and rescue at sea in the United Kingdom under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 through the widening of the facilitation offence under Section 41, primarily by the removal of the words “for gain.” In this endeavor, it evaluates the compatibility of the NBA with the maritime search and rescue international legal framework, with particular attention to the protection of rescuers and the integrity of the maritime search and rescue system. The NBA introduces a punitive approach towards maritime search and rescue efforts not undertaken on behalf of or coordinated by His Majesty’s Coastguard or an overseas maritime search and rescue authority exercising equivalent functions. Despite the statutory exclusions and defences suggesting some protection to rescuers, the NBA amounts to an act of deterrence for rescuers to act outside the supervision of the designated authorities. Further, the statutory threat to prosecute rescuers at sea ultimately serves the unspoken purpose of tightening the detection and control of unauthorized arrivals. The analysis proposed signals the UK’s shortfalls in the compliance with its international commitments, primarily in the maritime search and rescue realm, in its pursuit to prioritize deterrence policies.

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