This book addresses the international legal questions arising from the 'right of visit on the high seas' in the 21st century. This right is considered the most significant exception to the fundamental principle of the freedom of the high seas (the freedom, in peacetime, to remain free of interference by ships of another flag). It is this freedom that has been challenged by a recent significant increase in interceptions to counter the threats of international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or to suppress transnational organized crime at sea, particularly the...