Legal Definitions - angary

Angary is a principle in international law that allows a country, under specific urgent circumstances, to temporarily seize and use neutral foreign merchant ships or aircraft located within its territory or territorial waters. This right is typically invoked during wartime or in situations of extreme national emergency, such as a major natural disaster requiring immediate evacuation. A crucial condition for exercising angary is that the seizing country must provide full compensation (indemnity) to the owners of the seized property for its use and any damage incurred.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of angary:

• Wartime Military Transport: Imagine Country Alpha is engaged in a sudden, defensive war and needs to rapidly deploy a large number of troops and heavy equipment to a critical coastal region. Its own naval transport fleet is insufficient for the immediate demand. Several large merchant vessels, flying the flag of neutral Country Beta, are docked in Country Alpha's main port, awaiting cargo. Country Alpha invokes the right of angary to temporarily commandeer these neutral ships to transport its military personnel and supplies to the threatened area, promising full compensation to Country Beta for their use.

  This illustrates angary because Country Alpha, facing an urgent wartime necessity, temporarily seizes neutral merchant ships within its territorial waters for military purposes, with the understanding that it will provide complete financial indemnity to Country Beta for the use of its vessels.

• Humanitarian Evacuation During National Emergency: Consider a scenario where Country Gamma experiences a catastrophic earthquake that devastates a remote island region, rendering it uninhabitable and requiring the immediate evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Country Gamma's own air fleet is too small to handle the scale of the evacuation quickly. Several large cargo and passenger aircraft, belonging to airlines from neutral Country Delta, are grounded at Country Gamma's international airport due to the widespread disruption, waiting for clearance to depart. Country Gamma invokes angary to temporarily use these aircraft to airlift its citizens to safety and transport emergency medical supplies to the affected zone, committing to compensate Country Delta for the use of its planes.

  This demonstrates angary as Country Gamma, facing an extreme national emergency, temporarily seizes neutral aircraft within its territory for an urgent humanitarian purpose, committing to compensate Country Delta for the use of its planes and any associated costs.