Contracting out war?: Private military companies, law and regulation in the United Kingdom

International and Comparative Law Quarterly

Volumn 54, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 651-690

  Walker, Clive ^a   Whyte, Dave ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 27244454951     PISSN: 00205893     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/iclq/lei021     Document Type: Review

References (263)

1. R Nozick Anarchy, State and Utopia (Basil Blackwell Oxford 1974) 26.
2. D Osborne and T Gaebler Reinventing Government (Addison-Wesley Reading, Mass 1992).
3. See F Leishman, B Loveday, and S Savage Core Issues in Policing (Longman Harlow 1996) ch 4;
4. T Jones and T Newburn Private Security and Public Policing (Clarendon Press Oxford 1998)
5. L Johnston and CD Shearing Governing Security (Routledge London 2002)
6. M Button Private Policing (Willan Cullompton 2002).
7. See D Schicor Punishment for Profit (Sage London 1995)
8. RW Harding Private Prisons and Public Accountability (Open University Press Buckingham 1997).
9. Another example concerns the Private Finance Initiative contract offered by the Ministry of Defence for air refuelling tankers, which, at a cost of £13bn, will be the largest such deal: The Times 21 Apr 2003 19. Likewise in the US, Kellogg Brown and Root Services, a division of Vice-President Dick Cheney's former employer, Halliburton Companies, has provided military services since 1992, including the construction of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
10. See JL Taulbee 'Mercenaries, 'Private Armies and Security Companies in Contemporary Policy'(2000) 37 International Politics 433;
11. HM Howe 'The privatization of international affairs' (1998) 22 The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs Journal 1;
12. JC Zarate 'The Emergence of a New Dog of War: Private International Security Companies, International Law, and the New World Disorder' (1998) 34 Stanford Journal of International Law 75;
13. EW Orts 'Symposium: Corporate governance, stakeholder accountability, and sustainable peace: War and the business corporation' (2002) 35 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 549.
14. The US Department of Defence employs 734,000 private staff and 700,000 governmental employees: House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 8.
15. Ministry of Defence, Delivering Security in a Changing World (Cm 6040, London, 2003) para 3.3.
16. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) paras 10, 11.
17. For legal definitions, see below the discussion on First Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 Aug 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts ('Geneva Protocol I') Art 47.
18. See A Mockler The New Mercenaries (Sidgwick and Jackson London 1985); House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) Para 12.
19. For discussion, see House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) paras 31-3;
20. KA O'Brien 'Private military companies: Options for regulation' .
21. See House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 22.
22. J Milliken (ed) State Failure, Collapse and Reconstruction (Blackwell London 2003).
23. R Abrahamsen Disciplining Democracy: Development discourse and good governance in Africa (Zed London 2000).
24. L Johnston 'An unseen force' (1993) 3 Policing and Society 23.
25. See Defence Committee, The Physical Security of Military Installations in the United Kingdom (1983-84) HC 397-I;
26. Security at Royal Ordnance Factories and Nuclear Bases (1984-5) HC 217;
27. The Physical Security of Military Installations in the United Kingdom (1989-90 HC 171)
28. Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding (1995-6) HC 189).
29. See Ministry of Defence: Sale of Royal Ordnance plc (1997-8 HC 162)
30. Ministry of Defence: Further Examination of the Sale of Royal Ordnance plc (1988-9 HC 448).
31. See Ministry of Defence: Sales of the Royal Dockyards (1997-8 HC 748).
32. The Guardian, 10 Dec 2003 1.
33. ibid.
34. Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr, 2004, online edition .
35. See The Daily Telegraph 29 May 2004 2.
36. P Bennis and the IPS Iraq Task Force Paying the Price: The mounting costs of the Iraq war, (Institute for Policy Studies Washington 2004).
37. Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations Final Report (Department of Defense Washington 2004) 69;
38. Investigation of Intelligence Activities at Abu Ghraib, Report (Department of Defense Washington 2004) 47. In addition, David Passaro, contracted to the CIA, has been charged with assault in connection with the killing of a detainee at a US Army camp in Afghanistan: Financial Times 18 June 2004 9.
39. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577)
40. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922).
41. This Act followed the case of the CSS Alabama, a warship built at Laird's yard in Birkenhead in 1862 for use by the Confederate Forces in the American Civil War and including British crew members: See Foreign Enlistment Act 1870 s 8. Compare the previous Foreign Enlistment Act 1819 (passed to limit British involvement in Spanish American colonial conflicts).
42. See J Jaconelli 'The recruitment of mercenaries and the Foreign Enlistment Act 1870' [1990] Public Law 337 at 340.
43. (1998-9 HC 116) para 92.
44. See also (Diplock) Report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors appointed to inquire into the recruitment of mercenaries (Cmnd 6569 London 1976).
45. See A Mockler Mercenaries (MacDonald & Co London 1970), The New Mercenaries (Sidgwick & Jackson London 1985)
46. W Burchett and D Roebuck The Whores of War: Mercenaries Today (Penguin Harmondsworth 1977)
47. M Hoare Mercenary (Corgi London 1978), Congo Mercenary (Hale London 1991)
48. L Kessler Whores of War (Futura London 1982)
49. JC Zarate 'The emergence of a new dog of war: Private international security companies, international law, and the New World Disorder' (1988) 34 Stanford Journal of International Law 75 at 81.
50. See C Walker A Guide to the Anti-Terrorism Legislation (OUP Oxford 2002) ch 6.
51. Inquiry into Legislation against Terrorism (Cm 3420 London 1996) para 14.28.
52. See also Home Office and Northern Ireland Office Legislation against Terrorism (Cm 4178 London 1998) para 12.13.
53. Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003 s 52, inserting s 63A of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
54. Home Office and Northern Ireland Office Legislation against Terrorism (Cm 4178 London 1998) paras 4.18, 4.19.
55. Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003 s 52, inserting s 63A of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
56. Incitement to murder would be unlawful under the Offences against the Person Act 1861, s 4 (which certainly applies against politically motivated incitements such as in R v Most (1880-1) LR 7 QBD 244).
57. See s 1(2). The legislation followed the Scott Inquiry (Report of the Inquiry into the Export of Defence Equipment and Dual-Use Goods to Iraq and Related Prosecutions (1996) and the White Paper on Strategic Export Controls (Cm 3989 1998). Note also the European Union Code of Conduct for Arms Exports 1998 (Bulletin EU 6-1998) and the Dual-Use Items (Export Control) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/2620), made in implementation of and pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1334/2000 setting up a community regime for the control of exports of dual-use items and technology. (OJ L 159, 30.06.00, 1).
58. Export Control Act 2002, Schedule, para 3(2)(B). See Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) 6.
59. See Export of Goods, Transfer of Technology and Provision of Technical Assistance (Control) Order 2003 (SI 2003/2764)
60. The Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003 (SI 2003/2765)
61. The Trade in Controlled Goods (Embargoed Destinations) Order 2004 (SI 2004/318)
62. See for implementation: House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, The Government's proposals for Secondary Legislation under the Export Control Act (2002-3 HC 620)
63. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Strategic Export Controls Annual Report for 2001, Licensing Policy and Parliamentary Scrutiny (2002-3 HC 474)
64. Export of Goods, Transfer of Technology and Provision of Technical Assistance (Control) Order 2003 SI 2764;
65. Trade in Goods (Control) Order 2003 SI 2765/2003.
66. HC Debs. vol 403 col 437w 11 Apr 2003. There are also allegations of evasion of the Act by British companies by setting up manufacturing bases abroad: The Observer 17 Jan 1999 9.
67. See Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577).
68. See .
69. (1998-9 HC 116). Service personnel on HMS Cornwall helped to repair a helicopter used by Sandline.
70. See also Sir Thomas Legg and Sir Robin Ibbs Report of the Sierra Leone Arms Investigation (Stationery Office London 1998).
71. See House of Lords Debates, vol 580, col 129, 15 May 1997, Baroness Symons.
72. Cm 4325, 1999.
73. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Sierra Leone (1998-9 HC 116) para 96.
74. See J Raine and M Wilson 'Beyond managerialism in criminal justice' (1997) 36 Howard Journal 80 at p 49.
75. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577), para 24.
76. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 59.
77. See Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) Annex B.
78. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 99.
79. A/RES/44/34. See .
80. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 6.
81. It came into force only on 20 Oct 2001.
82. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 68.
83. G Robertson Crimes Against Humanity (Penguin Harmondsworth 2000) at 200.
84. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 62. Notable examples of old include the Virginia Company of London, the Hudson's Bay Company, the East India Company and the British South Africa Company. See JE Thompson Mercenaries, Pirates, and Sovereigns (Princeton University Press Princeton 1994).
85. F Pearce and S Tombs Toxic Capitalism: Corporate crime in the chemicals industry (Ashgate Aldershot 1998)
86. D Whyte 'Regulation and Corporate Crime' in J Muncie and D Wilson Student Handbook of Criminology (Cavendish London 2004).
87. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 23.
88. See also Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 63.
89. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 12.
90. ibid para 73.
91. ibid Annex C para 10.
92. See s 1(2).
93. D Whyte 'Lethal Regulation: State-corporate crime and the United Kingdom's New Mercenaries' (2003) 30 Journal of Law and Society 575 at 597.
94. K Silverstein 'Privatising war' (1997) The Nation 28 July/4 Aug 11 at 12.
95. D Shearer Private armies and military intervention (Adelphi Paper 316, International Institute for Strategic Studies London 1998) at 37.
96. E Sapone 'Have rifle with scope, will travel: The global economy of mercenary violence' (1999) 30 California Western International Law Journal 1 at 25.
97. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) paras 58, 59, and 60.
98. See, eg, Report of the Secretary-General pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 53/35, The Fall of Srebrenica (A/54/549, 1999) para 96.
99. See A Vines 'Mercenaries, human rights and legality' in A Musah and JK Fayemi (eds) Mercenaries: An African Security Dilemma (Pluto Press London 2000) at 184.
100. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) minutes of evidence, appendix one, memorandum from General Sir David Ramsbotham.
101. G Marx 'The interweaving of public and private police in undercover work' in C Shearing and P Stenning (eds) Private Policing (Sage London 1987) 183-4.
102. See S Tombs and D Whyte 'Corporations Beyond the Law? Regulation, Risk and Corporate Crime in a Globalised Era' (2003) 5 Risk Management 9.
103. See Ministry of Defence, Delivering Security in a Changing World (Cm 6040 London 2003) Annex 20.
104. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 65.
105. (Diplock) Report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors appointed to inquire into the recruitment of mercenaries (Cmnd 6569 London 1976).
106. The term is associated with US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld: The Times 31 Mar 2003 5.
107. See G Ebbeck 'Mercenaries and the "Sandline Affair"' (1998) 113 Australian Defence Force Journal 5 at 16.
108. See S Miller 'Soldiers of misfortune' The Guardian 27 Mar 1997 12;
109. D Bazargan 'High risk business' The Guardian 1997 T2. Whether the agreement was unenforceable on grounds of illegality resulted in litigation in Papua New Guinea v Sandline International Inc (unreported, 30 Mar 1999) (Sup Ct (Qld))
110. see D Sturzaker 'The Sandline affair: Illegality and international law' (2000) 3 International Arbitration Law Review 164.
111. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 65.
112. ibid para 73.
113. Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) 5.
114. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 119.
115. ibid paras 121 and 123. Some of the problems of delay might be eased by having a category of non-contentious work which does not require specific licensing as well as by various other methods such as fast-tracking for reputable companies: Para 124.
116. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 114. But this is questioned by the Government; Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) 5.
117. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 74.
118. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 128.
119. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 75.
120. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para. 133. Nevertheless, the Select Committee approved of institutional licenses: Para 134.
121. ibid paras 34, 37, 107, and 108.
122. Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) 6.
123. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 76.
124. Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ninth Report of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (Cm 5642 London 2002) 2 and 3. This initial policy review concluded against legislative change (see Foreign Affairs Committee Report, Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism (2003-04 HC 441) pars 30). But the Foreign Office is still conducting an internal review of policy options, based upon the Green Paper, and is scheduled to report by the end of the summer 2005 (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, personal contact with Whyte, 21 April 2005).
125. See Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) Annex B.
126. No 15. Prior legislation consisted of the Defence Act 1957 (No.44), s 121(A) of which prohibited members of the SADF from serving as mercenaries or providing mercenary services. EO was licensed in South Africa as a private security company (see National Keypoints Act (Act No 102 of 1980), Security Officers Act 1987 (No 92, as amended), and the Second Amendment to the Penal Code 1992 (No 126)).
127. See A Musah and JK Fayemi (eds) Mercenaries: An African Security Dilemma (Pluto Press London 2000), especially the figure on p xvi.
128. The Guardian 14 Jan 2005 2. Mann was convicted of arms offences in Zimbabwe (The Guardian 11 Sept 2004 1), while Nick du Toit was convicted in Equitorial Guinea (Daily Telegraph 1 Dec 2004). Simon Mann and Nick du Toit were previously involved in Executive Outcomes, and Mann was a founder of Sandline. Mann was latterly operating through a company, Logo Logistics, based in Guernsey.
129. 22 US Code s 2751 et seq.
130. 22 CFR Parts 120-30.
131. 22 US Code s 2776.
132. At present, there is no central record kept by any governmental department of all contracts with PMCs, a situation which is criticised by the Foreign Affairs Committee: House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-02 HC 922) para 17.
133. .
134. The Times 14 May 2003 1. The contract has existed since 1975: JC Zarate 'The Emergence of a New Dog of War: Private International Security Companies, International Law, and the New World Disorder' (1988) 34 Stanford Journal of International Law 75 at 103.
135. JC Zarate 'The Emergence of a New Dog of War: Private International Security Companies, International Law, and the New World Disorder' (1988) 34 Stanford Journal of International Law 75 at 106.
136. 18 US Code ss 958 and 959. Note also s 959(b) by which conspiracy to destroy the property of a foreign State is also forbidden. The legislation can be traced back to the Neutrality Act 1794:
137. see JC Zarate 'The Emergence of a New Dog of War: Private International Security Companies, International Law, and the New World Disorder' (1988) 34 Stanford Journal of International Law 75 at 134. An overt act must occur in the US: Wiborg v US 163 US 632 (1896). These offences were not used in 2002 against John Walker Lindh after his detention in Afghanistan (for the indictment against him, see ).
138. 18 US Code ss 958.
139. 266 F Supp 318 (DNY 1967).
140. 731 F Supp, 473 (SD Fla 1989).
141. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 28.
142. Ministry of Defence, Delivering Security in a Changing World (Cm 6040 London 2003) paras 2.11, 6.2.
143. S Fidler and T Catan 'Private Companies on the Frontline' (2003) 11 August, ft.com.
144. D Whyte 'Lethal Regulation: State-corporate crime and the United Kingdom's New Mercenaries' (2003) 30 Journal of Law and Society 575 at 597.
145. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 77.
146. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 160.
147. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 34.
148. [2004] EWHC 786. Cf Mulcahy v Ministry of Defence [1996] QB 732;
149. Bell & Others v Ministry of Defence [2003] EVMC 1134.
150. Burma Oil Co Ltd v Lord Advocate [1965] AC 75. The application of the Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987 was not considered.
151. In Tugar v Italy (App. No 22869/93 18 Oct 1995), the applicant, an Iraqi mine-clearer lost a leg when an anti-personnel mine supplied under contract with the Italian government by an Italian company to the Iraqi government in 1982 exploded. The applicant claimed that the knowing supply of, or failure to protect from, landmines which were used indiscriminately was a breach of Article 2. The claim was inadmissible. At the time, there was no arms export regulatory regime in Italy and landmines were not prohibited weapons, so the injury was seen as too remote from the actions or inactions of the Italian Government. Both circumstances have now changed in the United Kingdom (and Italy), as there is express authority both to regulate and not to traffic landmines.
152. App No 52207/99, 2001-XII.
153. See K Altiparmak 'Bankovic: An obstacle to the application of The European Convention on human rights in Iraq? (2004) 9 Journal of Conflict & Security Law 213
154. M O'Boyle 'The European Convention on Human Rights and extra territorial jurisdiction: A comment on life after Bankovic' in F Coomans and MT Kamminga, (eds) Extraterritorial Application of Huntan Rights Treaties (Intersentia Antwerp 2004).
155. App No 31821/96, 16 Nov 2003.
156. See N Mole 'Issa v Turkey: Delineating The Extra Territorial Effect of the European Convention On Human Rights' [2005] European Human Rights Law Review 86.
157. [2004] EWHC 2911 (Admin).
158. ibid paras 245 and 301.
159. ibid paras 248, 249, and 265.
160. ibid para 270.
161. See, eg, A/RES/56/232 of 26 Feb 2002.
162. See .
163. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the question of the use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination (E/CN.4/1999/11, Jan 1999, UNHCHR, Geneva, 1999) para 101.
164. K O'Brien 'Military-advisory groups and African security' (1998) 5 International Peacekeeping 78.
165. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 37.
166. See, eg, United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 40/61 of 9 Dec 1985; 49/60 of 9 Dec 1994.
167. Nicaragua v US [1986] ICJ 14 at 18.
168. G Robertson Crimes Against Humanity (Penguin Harmondsworth 2000) 102.
169. eg Article 1 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN Doc A/39/51 (1984)) States that responsibility for torture arises 'when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity'. Under common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the Conventions in all circumstances. See JJ Paust 'The Link between Human Rights and Terrorism and its Implications for the law of State Responsibility' (1987) 11 Hastings Int'l & Comparative L Rev 41
170. R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate and others, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (Amnesty International and others intervening) (No 3) [2000] 1 AC 147.
171. See also Demjanjuk v Petrovsky 776 F.2d 571 (6th Cir 1985)
172. Kadic v Karadzic 70 F.3d 232 (2d Cir 1995).
173. See Doe v Unocal Corporation 110 F Supp. 2d 1294 (CD Cal 2000)
174. Wiwa v Royal Dutch Petroleum Company 226 F 3d 88 (USCA, 2000).
175. See L Hinds 'The legal status of mercenaries: A concept in international humanitarian law' (1977) 52 Philadephia Law Journal 395. For the position relating to other unofficial combatants,
176. see L Zegveld The Accountability of Armed Opposition Groups in International Law (CUP Cambridge, 2002).
177. 75 UNTS 135.
178. 1125 UNTS 3.
179. See E Kwakwa 'The Current Status of Mercenaries in the Law of Armed Conflict' (1990) 14 Hastings Int'l & Comp L Rev 67 at 88-9.
180. See K Ipsen 'Combatants and non-combatants' in D Fleck (ed) The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts (OUP Oxford 1995) 66 and 90. Breaches of international law may result in punishment in a regular military court or war crimes: Geneva III, Arts 82 and 84.
181. 75 UNTS 297. In addition, there is a fundamental guarantee to humane treatment under Protocol I, Art 75.
182. 1125 UNTS 609.
183. RR Baxter 'Ius in bello interno' in J Norton Moore Law and Civil War in the Modern World (Johns Hopkins Press Baltimore 1974) 525.
184. A Rosas The Legal Status of Prisoners of War (Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia Helsinki 1976) 239 and 275;
185. M Veuthey 'Some problems of humanitarian laws in non-international conflicts and guerrilla war' in MC Bassiouni and VP Nanda A Treatise on International Criminal Law (Charles C Thomas Springfield Illinois 1973) 426;
186. L Moir The Law of Internal Armed Conflict (CUP Cambridge 2002) 34.
187. Nor are rebel groups allowed simply to declare themselves sovereign, a tactic attempted by the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1969: A Rosas The Legal Status of Prisoners of War (Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia Helsinki 1976) 208.
188. However, it is not essential that the State sponsoring the rebels is recognized by the detaining power: Art 4(A)(3). Furthermore, there may be wider application in the case of a disintegrating State such as Yugoslavia: T Meron 'The humanization of humanitarian law' (2000) 94 American Journal of International Law 239 at 257;
189. Prosecutor v Delalic No IT-96-21-T (16 Nov 1998).
190. See HW Van Deventer 'Mercenaries at Geneva' (1976) 70 American Journal of International Law 811.
191. For its history, see F Kalshoven 'Reaffirmation and development of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts' (1972) 3 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 18;
192. (1977) 8 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 107;
193. (1978) 9 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 107;
194. RR Baxter 'Humanitarian law and humanitarian politics' (1975) 16 Harvard International Law Journal 1;
195. M Bothe, KJ Partsch and WA Solf New Rules For Victims Of Armed Conflicts (Nijhoff Dordrecht 1982)
196. Y Sandoz et al (eds) ICRC, Commentary to the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (Nijhoff Geneva 1987)
197. H McCoubrey and ND White International Organizations and Civil Wars (Dartmouth Aldershot 1995).
198. GA Res 2625 (XXV).
199. WT Mallinson and SV Mallinson 'The juridicial status of privileged combatants under the Geneva Protocol of 1977 concenring international conflicts' (1978) 42 Law & Contemporary Problems 4 at 16.
200. A Rosas The Legal Status of Prisoners of War (Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia Helsinki 1976) 266;
201. G Cleaver 'Subcontracting military power' (2000) 33 Crime, Law and Social Cbange 131 at 132.
202. See APV Rogers 'Armed forces and the development of the law of war' (1982) 21 Review de droit Pénal Militaire 201 at 203.
203. Note that the Protocols have not been ratified by the US though many of their provisions are considered to be indicative of customary international law. See AD Sofaer 'Agora: The US Decision Not to Ratify Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions on the Protection of War Victims' (1988) 82 AJIL 784.
204. See K Ipsen 'Combatants and non-combatants' in D Fleck (ed) The Handbook of Huminitarian Law in Armed Conflicts (OUP Oxford 1995).81.
205. ICRC, Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 (Nijhoff Geneva 1987) para 1944.
206. The same applies under Geneva III and for examples of trials, see: MK Hoover 'The Laws of War and the Angolan trial of mercenaries' (1977) Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law Review 323;
207. GH Lockwood 'Report on the trial of mercenaries: Luanda, Angola, June 1976' (1977) 7 Manitoba Law Journal 183;
208. M-F Major 'Mercenaries and international law' (1992) 22 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 103 at 134.
209. G Cleaver 'Subcontracting military power' (2000) 33 Crime, Law and Social Change 131 at 133.
210. D Shearer Private Armies And Military Intervention (Adelphi Paper 316, International Institute for Strategic Studies London 1998) at 17-18.
211. M-F Major 'Mercenaries and international law' (1992) 22 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 103 at 111.
212. D Whyte 'Lethal Regulation: State-corporate crime and the United Kingdom's New Mercenaries' (2003) 30 Journal of Law and Society 575 at 594-5.
213. See House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) para 18.
214. (Diplock) Report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors appointed to inquire into the recruitment of mercenaries (Cmnd 6569 London 1976) para 7.
215. G Ebbeck 'Mercenaries and the "Sandline Affair" (1998) 113 Australian Defence Force Journal 5 at 17. But the International Court of Justice has indicated it will look beyond the legalistic position in regard to nationality and require a genuine link to the nation to be established: Nottebohm (Liechtenstein v Guatemala) 1955 ICJ Reports 4.
216. Art 3 is also a common clause. See Report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors appointed to consider authorized procedures for the interrogation of persons suspected of terrorism (Cmnd 4901 1972) para 4.
217. AP Rubin 'The status of rebels under the Geneva Conventions of 1949' (1972) 21 ICLQ 472;
218. L Moir The Law of Internal Armed Conflict (CUP Cambridge 2002) 67.
219. JE Bond 'Application of the Law of War to internal conflicts' (1973) 3 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 345 at 373-4.
220. F Kalshoven 'Reaffirmation and development of international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts' (1977) 8 Netherlands Yearbook of International Law 107 at 109.
221. See RR Baxter 'Humanitarian' law and humanitarian politics' (1975) 16 Harvard International Law Journal 1;
222. A Cassese 'The status of rebels under the 1977 Geneva Protocol on Non-International Armed Conflicts' (1981) 30 ICLQ 416 at 418;
223. G Robertson Crimes Against Humanity (Penguin Harmondsworth 2000) 181;
224. L Moir The Law of Internal Armed Conflict (CUP Cambridge 2002) 102.
225. ibid 104.
226. ibid 131.
227. MH Hoffman 'Emerging combatants, war crimes and the future of international humanitarian law' (2000) 34 Crime, Law & Social Change 99 at 104.
228. E Kwakwa 'The current status of mercenaries in the law of armed conflict' (1990) 14 Hastings International & Comparative Law Review 67 at 69
229. G Ebbeck 'Mercenaries and the "Sandline Affair"' (1998) 113 Australian Defence Force Journal 5 at 9, 18.
230. For a wider history, see M-F Major 'Mercenaries and international law' (1992) 22 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law 103 at 119.
231. Organization of African Unity Convention for the Elimination of Mercenaries in Africa, OAU Doc CM/433/Rev L, Annex 1 (1972). The Convention entered into force in 1985. See P Mourning 'Leashing the dogs of war' (1982) 22 Virginia Journal of International Law 589 at 599.
232. International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, GA Res A/44/34, UN GAOR, 44th Sess, Annex, Agenda Item 144, UN Doc A/RES/44/34 (1989), reprinted in 29 ILM 89. Prior to the Convention, the UN General Assembly had declared certain uses of mercenaries to be criminal: Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (UN GA Res A/2464, UN Doc A/7218 (1968). P Mourning 'Leashing the dogs of war' (1982) 22 Virginia Journal of International Law 589 at 608.
233. See D Kassebaum 'A question of facts - the legal use of private security firms in Bosnia' (2000) 38 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 581 at 596.
234. The reversal of policy is marked: Ibid at 590.
235. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 17 July 1988, UN Doc A/ CONF.183/9, (1998) 37 ILM 999, Ails 7, 20. See KD Askin 'Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court' (1999) 1O Criminal Law Forum 33;
236. D McGoldrick 'The Permanent International Criminal Court' [1999] Criminal Law Review 627;
237. MH Arsanjani 'The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court' (1999) 93 American Journal of International Law 22;
238. VP Nanda 'The Establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court: Challenges Ahead' (1998) 20 Human Rights Quarterly 413;
239. W Schabas An Introduction to International Criminal Court (CUP Cambridge 2001).
240. See International Criminal Court Act 2001.
241. The Independent 30 June 2003 3. See further American Servicemembers' Protection Act 2002 (22 USC s 7401).
242. See L Martinez 'Prosecuting terrorists at the International Criminal Court: Possibilities and problems' (2002) 34 Rutgers Law Journal 1 at 18. The UK Government views the ICC as unsuitable in that context because of difficulties of definition and the production of sensitive evidence.
243. See Government Response to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Policy and Human Rights (Cm 4299 London 1999) 3.
244. See S Kabel 'Our business is people (even if it Idlis them)' (2004) 12 Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law 461.
245. See Prosecutor v Tadi (1996) Case IT-94-1-AR72, 35 ILM 32 (appeal on jurisdiction), (1997) Case IT-94-1-T, 36 ILM 908 (judgment), (1999) Case IT-94-1-A, 38 ILM 158 (appeal); Prosecutor v Erdemovi (1996) IT-96-22-T; Prosecutor v Marti (1996) Case No IT-95-11-R61; Prosecutor v Delali et al (1998) Case No. IT-96-21-A; Prosecutor v Kupreski et al (2000) Case No. IT-95-16-T, Judgment, ICTY TC (judgment), (2001) Case No IT-95-16-A, Judgment, ICTY AC (appeal); Prosecutor v Kordi & Cerkes (2001) Case No IT-95-14/2-T; M Bohlander 'Prosecutor v Dusko Tadic: waiting to exhale' (2000) 11 Criminal Law Forum 217.
246. See L Moir The Law of Internal Armed Conflict (CUP Cambridge 2002) ch 4.
247. See G Mettraux 'Crimes against humanity in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda' (2002) 43 Harvard International Law Journal 231.
248. The limit to 'natural persons' also remains: Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (S/RES/827, 1993) Art 6; Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (S/RES/955 (1994)) Art 6.
249. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 17. An example of both market power and limited sanctions concerned the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's recent warnings to British PMC Northbridge Services Group regarding its potential involvement in the Ivory Coast; see .
250. D Hobbs et al Bouncers: Violence And Governance In The Night-Time Economy (OUP Oxford 2003) 366.
251. N South Policing For Profit: The Private Security Sector (Sage London 1988) at 92.
252. A Musah and JK Fayemi (eds) Mercenaries: An African Security Dilemma (Pluto Press London 2000).
253. Foreign Office, Private Military Companies: Options for Regulation (2001-2 HC 577) para 40.
254. C Forcese 'Deterring "Militarized Commerce": The Prospect of Liability for "Privatized" Human Rights Abuses' (1999-2000) 31 Ottawa L Rev 171.
255. See Adams v Cape Industries [1990] Ch 433.
256. See, eg, Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Act 1998 s 5.
257. Closure of Sandline International was announced on 16 Apr 2004 , but it has been followed by the rise to prominence of Aegis Defence Services and Logo Logistics, both described earlier.
258. House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Private Military Companies (2001-2 HC 922) Examination of witnesses, q 158.
259. N Hertz The Silent Takeover: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Death of Democracy (Heinemann London 2001).
260. B Jessop The Future of the Capitalist State (Polity Cambridge 2002) at 193.
261. L Weiss 'Globalisation and the Myth of the Powerless State' (1997) 225 New Left Review 3.
262. R Coleman Reclaim the Streets: Surveillance, social control and the city (Willan Collumpton 2004), see ch 3 in particular.
263. The claim by Senator Edward Kennedy that 'Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam' (Washington Post 6 Apr 2004 A4) becomes even less tenable if much of the personnel involved are privately contracted volunteers, though the possibilities of contracting for police, prisons and other criminal justice services may eventually prolong US involvement in former conflict zones