An Act implemented and routinely used by the United States Coast Guard allowing them to board foreign ships on the high seas under allegations of drug trafficking.
Acronyms (colloquial)
MDLEA
Nicknames
Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act of 1986
Enacted by
the 99th United States Congress
Effective
1986
Citations
Public law
705
The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), implemented in 1986 by the United States, is a piece of legislation combatting the illegal drug trade. Enacted through congress, the MDLEA establishes that it is illegal for anyone on board a vessel belonging to the United States or within their jurisdiction to deliberately produce or disseminate psychotropic substances. The act is notable for its extraterritorial jurisdiction and its lack of nexus requirement. The Act provides that the United States jurisdiction reaches any vessel "registered in a foreign nation where the flag nation has consented or waived objection to the enforcement of the United States law by the United States."[1] In recent years the MDLEA has been met with controversy as it permits the U.S. Coast Guard the authority to reach and imprison drug traffickers who are operating over international waters and foreign citizens who are not located on board the watercraft but operating overseas or as a conspirator.[2]
^Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives. "CHAPTER 705—MARITIME DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT". United States Code.
^Aquila, Elaina. "8 Courts Have Gone Overboard In Applying The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act". Fordham Law Review, vol 86, no. 6, 2018, pp. 2965- 2972, 2977-2980, 2990-2991, https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5529&context=flr . Accessed 19 May 2019.
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