Međunarodne studije, Vol. XI No. 4, 2011.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
Status of the private security companies and their employees based on the international humanitarian law during an armed conflict
Robert Mikac
orcid.org/0000-0003-4568-6299
; Ministarstvo unutarnjih poslova Republike Hrvatske
Sažetak
Private initiative related to war is as old as the history of warfare. Either independent or government tied, it has always been controversial. The end of the Cold War has brought us in to a new era in which some governments have dramatically increased their reliance on private security companies in terms of improving national and international security and their usage in the international operations. Many analysts firmly believe that the large international
operations, such as the ones in Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, would not be possible without their assistance. Under the influence of mass media and the controversies connected to the recent operations and the tangible evidence on the human rights violations, victims and excessive use of force,
some are labeling this phenomenon as a mercenary activity, especially that part of the sector which primarily uses firearms as the main argument of their capability. Therefore the questions arise on legal status of such companies and their employees, who with governments link their activities and share liabilities and whether the private security companies' employees are mercenaries or not; are they combatants or noncombatants. This article's main goal is twofold: primarily, to provide the review of the legal status of the private security companies and their employees according to the international humanitarian law; secondly, to point out the restrictions in the interpretation and lack of provisions of that same legal frame.
Ključne riječi
private security companies; contractors; international humanitarian law; mercenaries; fighters; civilians
Hrčak ID:
291636
URI
Datum izdavanja:
28.12.2011.
Posjeta: 655 *