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Legal Status of Private Military and Security Companies in Contemporary Armed Conflicts


Author: Zacon Corina
Degree:doctor of law
Speciality: 12.00.10 - International Public Law
Year:2022
Scientific adviser: Alexandru Cauia
doctor, associate professor (docent)
Institution: Free International University of Moldova

Status

The thesis was presented on the 28 March, 2022
Approved by NCAA on the 1 July, 2022

Abstract

Adobe PDF document – 0.33 Mb / in romanian
Adobe PDF document – 0.29 Mb / in english

Thesis

CZU 341.1/.7(043.3)

Adobe PDF document 1.60 Mb / in romanian
209 pages

Keywords

international humanitarian law, private military and security companies, combatants, mercenaries, civilians, national legal regulations, the Montreux Document, the International Code of Conduct, the armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine

Summary

Thesis structure. The thesis includes: introduction, 4 chapters, general conclusions and recommendations, bibliography, basic text. The obtained results are reflected in 9 scientific articles.

The field of study is the investigation of national and international normative provisions on the legal status of private military and security companies in contemporary armed conflicts, through the analysis of the specific realities of armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.

The purpose of paper is to analyze the legal status of private military and security companies at national and international level and to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the mechanisms and legal instruments of effective regulation and to prevent and combat the negative effects of increasing active and direct involvement of private and military security companies in contemporary armed conflicts in order to ensure compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law.

The objectives of research: Analysis of the main reference works on the legal status of military and private security companies and the historical evolution of this phenomenon; Determining the evolution, status, and importance of legal regulations for using the services of private military and security companies in the United States; Research on the process of regulating the legal status of private military and security companies in European countries in order to highlight good practices; Analysis of the normative basis at the national level of some states on the African continent; Determining the legal status of employees of private military and security companies and establishing their qualification criteria; Reflecting current trends in the regulation of the legal status of private military and security companies at the international level; Establishing the impact of the private military and security companies’ involvement in contemporary armed conflicts on the state’s monopoly as for the use of military force; Assessing the place and role of private military and security companies in armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.

The novelty and scientific originality lies in the fact that the thesis is an extensive study that investigates the evolution and essence of the legal status of private structures conventionally called private military and security companies in contemporary armed conflicts in order to comparatively analyze regulatory mechanisms and instruments of the legal activities of these entities at the national level in the US and some countries in Europe and Africa to highlight good practices in this regard, as well as attempts and initiatives to legally regulate these companies in states where they are affected or involved in.

The obtained results that contribute to solving an important scientific problem consist in elucidating and arguing the need and importance of developing and adopting an international legal instrument that clearly establishes the legal status of private military and security companies and their employees in contemporary armed conflicts, describing the situation in fact, by identifying both national and international regulatory deficiencies and the impossibility of international regulatory attempts to establish the legal status of these private actors, disregarding their exclusively commercial interests and the divergent interests of states affected by armed conflict, to ensure compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law.

The theoretical significance of the research lies in conducting a comprehensive study of national and international regulations regarding the determination of the legal status of private military and security companies and their employees in armed conflicts, in the light of experiences provided by armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.

The applicative value of the paper materializes through the possibility of using both factual and analytical material to supplement the didactic-scientific materials necessary for the training of law students and to facilitate the process of drafting legal regulations on the legal status of private military and security companies nationally and internationally.

Implementation of scientific results. The results of the research were presented within the works of two international scientific conferences and were reflected in five scientific articles published in specialized journals in the country and in two international scientific journals.