Private military companies under international humanitarian law

Theoretical Approach to Understanding the Nature of Private Military and Security Companies

“…40 Much attention has been placed on the activities of states, supra-national organisations and civil society organisations in peace-building, yet it is PMSCs that are currently holding sway. Despite the fact that these companies are viewed by the international community as an unattractive option, the refusal or reluctance of states to commit their national forces to interventions means that the use of PMSCs is the best available alternative.…”

In from the cold? Self-legitimating the market for private security

“…These include export licensing systems (Caparini 2007) and parts of international humanitarian law (Cameron 2009). Under what conditions the latter instrument can be applied to PMSCs is, however, subject to debate (Doswald-Beck 2007, De Nevers 2009. Authors have argued that some of the flaws regarding accountability stem not from the shortage of legal measures, but rather from the difficulties faced by regulators when trying to use or adapt these measures (Leander 2012), or from the lack of precision in these measures, meaning that they fail to encompass the whole spectrum of services that PMSCs offer (Isenberg 2004).…”

Private Security Companies and the Laws of War

“…Although PSCs share some characteristics with militias -at least if they are working for their own governments -some international legal scholars agree that it is too great a stretch to conclude that PSCs fit this model (Doswald-Beck, 2007). A few scholars have argued that private military companies could be considered combatants under IHL (see, for example, Richemond-Barak, 2008).…”

“…States are required not only to prevent civilian participation in hostilities, but also to ensure that civilians in their employ are aware of their obligations under IHL. The state or its representatives may be liable if its employees commit violations (Turner & Norton, 2001;Doswald-Beck, 2007). This suggests that states must remove the legal loopholes that currently exist in domestic law so that they can prosecute PSC contractors who commit crimes.…”