The Use of Force

This chapter will not address the law of naval warfare as, by its nature, it is a matter of warfare and not maritime regulation and enforcement. It is therefore outside the scope of this book. This chapter will also not address hot pursuit as it is the subject of other chapters. While hot pursuit can be a preliminary action to the use of force, it does not of itself necessarily involve the threat or use of force. Questions of enforcement jurisdiction are for other chapters in this book so it is important to note that the focus of this chapter is not so much on the jurisdictional basis to use force, except in so far it affects the level of force that may be permissible in a particular circumstance. This chapter will consider the use of force across a number of specific sectors mainly because this is how the law is to be found. This will allow for some comparison of use of force provisions intended for different law enforcement purposes.