Privatizing War
Private Military and Security Companies under Public International Law

A comprehensive and detailed analysis of the international legal framework applying to private military and security companies in armed conflict.

Lindsey Cameron (Author), Vincent Chetail (Author)

9781107032408, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 March 2013

754 pages
23.5 x 15.5 x 4.3 cm, 1.19 kg

'[Lindsey Cameron and Vincent Chetail] have done a heroic job of imposing some analytic order on … seeming legal chaos, at least with respect to public international law. Bringing great rigor, depth, and clarity to the task, [they] provide a systematic overview of the multiple bodies of public international law that govern the contractors themselves and the states and others that employ them … [this book] is breathtaking both in its scope and attention to detail and will surely serve as a lasting and essential resource for anyone working in the field of privatized foreign affairs … Cameron and Chetail are to be lauded for their extraordinary efforts to clarify the international law framework to be applied to PMSCs …' Laura A. Dickinson, The American Journal of International Law

A growing number of states use private military and security companies (PMSCs) for a variety of tasks, which were traditionally fulfilled by soldiers. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the law that applies to PMSCs active in situations of armed conflict, focusing on international humanitarian law. It examines the limits in international law on how states may use private actors, taking the debate beyond the question of whether PMSCs are mercenaries. The authors delve into issues such as how PMSCs are bound by humanitarian law, whether their staff are civilians or combatants, and how the use of force in self-defence relates to direct participation in hostilities, a key issue for an industry that operates by exploiting the right to use force in self-defence. Throughout, the authors identify how existing legal obligations, including under state and individual criminal responsibility should play a role in the regulation of the industry.

Introduction
1. The limits on the right to resort to PMSCs
2. The international responsibility of states and its relevance for PMSCs
3. Legal means through which PMSCs are bound by IHL
4. The legal rules applicable to PMSCs and their personnel
5. The implementation of responsibility arising from violations of international law by PMSCs
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International humanitarian law [LBBS], Law [L], International relations [JPS]