If this were the 19th century the pirates would be given summary justice under the old Admiralty Law. As it is most of the foreign ministries of countries with naval ships in the area have told their navies not to detain captured pirates because of the jurisdictional issues that are involved--the flag the hijacked ship is sailing under, the nationalities of the hijacked crewmen, and what if any country is willing to put the pirates on trial. This is one case where international institutions such as the UN may be able to agree upon a modus operandi for dealing with the problem. At least the naval presence in the region is starting to produce results.