The Andromeda Galaxy: Legal and Ethical Aspects of Technology-Aided Maritime Border Surveillance Operations

The European Union Maritime Security Strategy (EUMSS) Action Plan addresses challenges against the European Union’s (EU) maritime security, ranging from ensuring overall peace to external border control, the protection of maritime infrastructures, common natural resources, and the environment. One of the core EUMSS principles is respect for the rule of law, as reflected under ‘the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and human rights’.

Within this framework, this chapter will provide a brief overview of the EU’s maritime security policy landscape, focusing on maritime border surveillance. It will further identify the main legal and ethical challenges for technology-aided maritime surveillance activities for border control. An ethical assessment of the technologies and tools, including drones, satellites, and sensors, that are usually deployed to enhance maritime situational awareness, and the integration of data from such sources, will be conducted.

The milestone judgements issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights will be critically reviewed so that a possible equilibrium between security and traditional guarantees of the rule of law, respect for the fundamental rights of privacy, personal data protection and the right to asylum is accomplished.