A challenge for accountability: legal analysis on the involvement of private military and security companies operating in armed conflicts

Abstract

Throughout the history the reliance on the Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) considerably increased, gaining more possibilities to provide security services and military forces in conflicting territories. However, within the current legal framework the involvement of PMSCs in wars is not clearly defined and regulated, thus raising potential legal gaps. As the demand for PMSCs services is increasing, this paper is aimed to identify the legal issues arising in participation of PMSCs in armed conflicts and consequently analyses the measures taken to tackle the issues in question. The importance of the analysis is enclosed in the fact that possibly PMSCs are operating in the legal vacuum as the lack of clarity, precise definitions and challenge for accountability are making PMSCs an autonomous and unaccountable power within the armed conflicts