PMCs often operate in armed conflicts and they are mainly hired by States’ parties to the conflict, which assign them several duties, such as combating, providing security or support to armed forces. First, this phenomenon has been addressed as constituting the rise of a new type of mercenarism, which is unaccountable and dangerously not restrained by any effective regulation.

Second, delegating to PMCs important wartime tasks, like prisons’ security or even employing them in combats, poses contractors in the position to seriously violate International Humanitarian Law

(PART I) Private Military Companies: Liability aspects under international criminal law

Pubblicato il 26.01.2010