In law enforcement and international law, hot pursuit can refer to an immediate pursuit whereby the competent security officers or the agents of a state are allowed to enter and arrest a fleeing offender in the territorial jurisdiction of another state or in the territory where the pursuing state has not its jurisdictional power (sovereignty), provided that the pursuit (chase) must start within the territory of the pursuing state, and is continuous and without any interruption.
U/A 111 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, 1982 right of hot pursuit is granted to a coastal state to prevent and arrest the ship escaping to the High Seas beyond its territorial waters, provided that
1. It must be undertaken by the competent authorities of the coastal State
2. There must be a good reason to believe that the ship which has been pursuing has violated the laws and regulations of that State
3. The pursuit must be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats connected to the offense is within the internal waters, the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the pursuing State
4. It must be continuous and without any due interruptions.
However, it is not necessary that the foreign ship must receive the order to stop from the ships of the coastal state when it was within the territorial sea or the contiguous zone, but only the presence of the ship giving the orders in the said territories is essential and thus sufficient.
Furthermore, if the foreign ship is within a contiguous zone, the EEZ, the Continental Shelf, and the Safety Zones in the EEZ or the Continental Shelf then the pursuit may only be undertaken if there has been a violation of the rules and regulations as applicable in the respective regimes (areas, zones).
The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State. The right of hot pursuit may be exercised only by warships or military aircraft, or ships or aircraft under government services, or other ships or aircraft as authorized to that effect.
Where a coastal state, stopping or arresting a foreign ship outside the territorial sea on the basis of its right of hot pursuit, fails to justify the exercise, it shall be liable to compensate the ship for any loss or damage cause to it due to the exercise of this right.
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