<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.2d1 20170631//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd">
<ArticleSet>
<Article>
<Journal>
<PublisherName>ejsss</PublisherName>
<JournalTitle>ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES</JournalTitle>
<PISSN/>
<EISSN/>
<Volume-Issue>Volume 3 Issue 3</Volume-Issue>
<PartNumber/>
<IssueTopic>Multidisciplinary</IssueTopic>
<IssueLanguage>English</IssueLanguage>
<Season>Dec 2022-Jan 2023</Season>
<SpecialIssue>N</SpecialIssue>
<SupplementaryIssue>N</SupplementaryIssue>
<IssueOA>Y</IssueOA>
<PubDate>
<Year>2023</Year>
<Month>01</Month>
<Day>31</Day>
</PubDate>
<ArticleType>International Relations</ArticleType>
<ArticleTitle>Soldiers for Hire: Contextualising the Private Military__ampersandsign#39;s Legal Conundrums</ArticleTitle>
<SubTitle/>
<ArticleLanguage>English</ArticleLanguage>
<ArticleOA>Y</ArticleOA>
<FirstPage>268</FirstPage>
<LastPage>288</LastPage>
<AuthorList>
<Author>
<FirstName>Aman</FirstName>
<LastName>Sharma</LastName>
<AuthorLanguage>English</AuthorLanguage>
<Affiliation/>
<CorrespondingAuthor>N</CorrespondingAuthor>
<ORCID/>
</Author>
</AuthorList>
<DOI>10.47362/EJSSS.2023.3301</DOI>
<Abstract>The industry surrounding private military and security companies (PMSCs) is a conflict-driven industry. It often operates in regions with a significant security vacuum and a lack of an efficient legal and judicial system. This underscores the importance of effective regulatory oversight that may be international, national, or an amalgamation of both. Currently, the framing and subsequent enforcement of regulations continue to be a challenge due to divergent approaches among various stakeholders. The research paper focuses on the need to develop a consensus and bring accountability to the industry due to its far-reaching consequences. The research was based on analysing the existing regulations and using primary as well as secondary sources to identify legal gaps that impede the process of ensuring accountability from the PMSCs. Furthermore, the paper contextualised the legal ambiguities by taking up case studies of prominent PMSCs that have shaped current regulations. Apart from identifying the legal ambiguities, the research also highlighted the current scope of regulations and remedies in practice. It emphasised the importance of bringing good practises together and adding new dimensions to the definition of a mercenary by promoting better training procedures, effective and detailed vetting processes, and registering both PMSCs and individual contractors.</Abstract>
<AbstractLanguage>English</AbstractLanguage>
<Keywords>Private Military and Security Companies, Accountability, Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, Huma Rights, DynCorp, Wagner Group, Blackwater, Montreux Document, ICoC</Keywords>
<URLs>
<Abstract>https://ejsss.net.in/ubijournal-v1copy/journals/abstract.php?article_id=14310&title=Soldiers for Hire: Contextualising the Private Military__ampersandsign#39;s Legal Conundrums</Abstract>
</URLs>
<References>
<ReferencesarticleTitle>References</ReferencesarticleTitle>
<ReferencesfirstPage>16</ReferencesfirstPage>
<ReferenceslastPage>19</ReferenceslastPage>
<References>Al Shimari, et al. v. CACI, 08-cv-0827 GBL-JFA (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia September 15, 2008). Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/assets/Amended%20Complaint%20on%20the%20Defendants.pdf
Al Shimari, et al. v. CACI, 1:08-cv-0827 LMB-JFA (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Febraury 28, 2019). Retrieved September 7, 2022, from Business and; Human Rights Resource Centre: https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/attach/2019/03/1150_2-28-19_CACI%20memo%20MTD%20derivative%20immunity%20web.pdf
Al-Quraishi, et al. v. Nakhla and L-3 Services, 8:08-cv-01696-PJM (United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Greenbelt division October 10, 2012). Retrieved September 7, 2022, from https://ccrjustice.org/sites/default/files/assets/133_2012-10-10%20Al-Quraishi_Marginal%20Order%20approving%20Notice%20of%20Voluntary%20Dismissal.pdf
Archibong, E. J. (2021, July 21). Private Military Contractors: Legitimate Entrepreneurs or New Fashioned Mercenaries. Journal of Civil and; Legal Sciences, 10(7). doi:10.4172/2169-0170.1000279
Arnpriester, N. (2017). Combating Impunity: The Private Military Industry, Human Rights, and the “Legal Gap”. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 38(4). Retrieved August 25, 2022, from https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/jil/vol38/iss4/3/
Article 359, Mercenarism. (1996). The Criminal Code Of The Russian Federation. Retrieved December 15, 2022, from http://www.russian-criminal-code.com/PartII/SectionXII/Chapter34.html
Barlow, E. (2011, August 21). Relentless pursuit: A neglected COIN principle? Retrieved September 22, 2022, from Eeben Barlowand;#39;s military and security blog: http://eebenbarlowsmilitaryandsecurityblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/relentless-pursuit-neglected-coin.html
Bodurtha, M. (2022, April 1). An Obligation to Regulate: How Private Military Companies Embolden Conflict with Impunity from the Middle East to Central Africa. Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.jtl.columbia.edu/bulletin-blog/an-obligation-to-regulate-how-private-military-companies-embolden-conflict-with-impunity-from-the-middle-east-to-central-africa
Boone, J. (2010, December 2). Foreign contractors hired Afghan and;#39;dancing boysand;#39;, WikiLeaks cable reveals. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from The Gaurdian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/02/foreign-contractors-hired-dancing-boys
Faite, A. (2004, October 15). Involvement of Private Contractors in Armed Conflict: Implications under International Humanitarian Law. Defence Studies, 4(2). Retrieved from https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/article/other/pmc-article-310804.htm
Fasanotti, F. S. (2022, February 8). Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa: Influence, commercial concessions, rights violations, and counterinsurgency failure. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/02/08/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-influence-commercial-concessions-rights-violations-and-counterinsurgency-failure/
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland. (2022). Participating States of the Montreux Document. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA: https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/foreign-policy/international-law/international-humanitarian-law/private-military-security-companies/participating-states.html
France, M. (1992). Mercenaries and International Law. Georgia Journal of International and; Comparative Law, 22(1), 103-150. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/gjicl/vol22/iss1/5/
Gleicher, N. (2020, October 8). Removing Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from Meta: https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/removing-coordinated-inauthentic-behavior-september-report/
Gwatiwa, T. T. (2016, December 1). Private Military and Security Companies policy in Africa: Regional policy stasis as Agency in international politics. Scientia Militaria - South African Journal of Military Studies, 68-81. doi:10.5787/44-2-1176
Hammes, T. X. (2010). Private Contractors in Conflict Zones: The Good, the Bad, and the Strategic Impact. Institute for National Strategic Studies, Center for Strategic. National Defense University Press. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA536906
Human Rights Watch. (2002). Hopes betrayed: Trafficking of women and girls to post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina for forced prostitution. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/bosnia/Bosnia1102-01.htm#P164_4470
ICOCA. (n.d.). The code. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from ICOCA: https://icoca.ch/the-code/
Lam, A. (2018, March 7). CITIC-Group-Increases-Stake-In-HK-Listed-Frontier-Services-Group-To-40.51. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from Nikkei Asia: https://asia.nikkei.com/NAR/Articles/CITIC-Group-Increases-Stake-In-HK-Listed-Frontier-Services-Group-To-40.51
Maddocks, J. (2021, April 28). Russia, The Wagner Group, And The Issue Of Attribution. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from Articles of War: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/russia-wagner-group-attribution/
Markusen, M. (2022, January 12). A Stealth Industry: The Quiet Expansion of Chinese Private Security Companies. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from CSIS: https://www.csis.org/analysis/stealth-industry-quiet-expansion-chinese-private-security-companies
Mquirmi, N. E. (2022). Private military and security companies: a new form of mercenarism? Policy Center for the New South. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.policycenter.ma/publications/private-military-and-security-companies-new-form-mercenarism
Nimkar, R. (2009). From Bosnia to Baghdad the case for regulating Private Military and Security Companies. Journal of Public and International Affairs - Princeton University. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://jpia.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf1661/files/2009-1.pdf
OHCHR. (2018, April). OHCHR. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from Working Group on the use of mercenaries: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/MercenarismandPrivateMilitarySecurityCompanies.pdf
Prem, B. (2021). The regulation of private military and security companies: Analyzing power in multi-stakeholder initiatives. In Contemporary Security Policy. Contemporary Security Policy, 345–370. doi:10.1080/13523260.2021.1897225
Redaelli, C. (2021, November 9). The Involvement of Mercenaries and Private Military Security Companies in Armed Conflicts: What Does IHL Say? (G. Academy, Interviewer) Retrieved September 22, 2022, from Geneva Academy: https://www.geneva-academy.ch/news/detail/482-the-involvement-of-mercenaries-and-private-military-security-companies-in-armed-conflicts-what-does-ihl-say
Siegel, J. (2017, July 12). The Real Winner of the Afghan War Is This Shady Military Contractor. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from The daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-real-winner-of-the-afghan-war-is-this-shady-military-contractor
Singer, P. W. (2004). The private military industry and Iraq: What have we learned and where to next? Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). Retrieved September 22, 2022, from https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/14132/pp4_singer.pdf
Singer, P. W. (2007). Can’t Win With ‘Em, Can’t Go To War Without ‘Em: Private Military Contractors and Counterinsurgency. The Brookings Institution. brookings.edu. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/research/cant-win-with-em-cant-go-to-war-without-em-private-military-contractors-and-counterinsurgency/
Singer, P. W. (2007, October 2). The Dark Truth about Blackwater. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-dark-truth-about-blackwater/
Singer, P. W. (2007, January 4). The Law Catches Up to Private Militaries, Embeds. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-law-catches-up-to-private-militaries-embeds/
Sopko, John F. (2014). Department of state assistance to Afghanistan. Office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/special%20projects/SIGAR-14-49-SP.pdf
Sysoev, G. (2012, April 11). Putin supported the idea of ??creating private military companies in Russia. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from RIA Novosti: https://ria.ru/20120411/623227984.html
The Montreux Document. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2022, from Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA: https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/foreign-policy/international-law/international-humanitarian-law/private-military-security-companies/montreux-document.html
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2020, July 15). Treasury Targets Financier’s Illicit Sanctions Evasion Activity. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from U.S. Department of the Treasury: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1058
US Department of Justice. (2008, December 8). Five Blackwater Employees Indicted on Manslaughter and Weapons Charges for Fatal Nisur Square Shooting in Iraq. Retrieved September 7, 2022, from US Department of Justice: https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/2008/December/08-nsd-1068.html
US Department of Justice. (2019, August 14). Former Blackwater Employee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Murder in 2007 Shooting at Nisur Square in Iraq. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://www.justice.gov/: https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/former-blackwater-employee-sentenced-life-imprisonment-murder-2007-shooting-nisur-square
Wilkers, R. (2020, September 25). Amentum hits gas pedal with DynCorp acquisition. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from Washington Technology: https://washingtontechnology.com/2020/09/amentum-hits-gas-pedal-with-dyncorp-acquisition/355028/
Wilson, G. (2016, April 5). PROXY Capabilities – The History and Future of Russian Private Military Companies. Retrieved September 22, 2022, from Strifeblog: https://www.strifeblog.org/2016/04/05/the-history-and-future-of-russian-private-military-companies/#_ednref2</References>
</References>
</Journal>
</Article>
</ArticleSet>