State Control over Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflict

339 Pages·2011·4.38 MB·English

by  Hannah Tonkin

STATE CONTROL OVER PRIVATE
MILITARY AND SECURITY COMPANIES
IN ARMED CONFLICT
The past two decades have witnessed the rapid proliferation of private
militaryandsecuritycompanies(PMSCs)inarmedconflictsaroundthe
world,withPMSCsparticipatingin,forexample,offensivecombat,pris-
onerinterrogationandtheprovisionofadviceandtraining.Theextensive
outsourcingofmilitaryandsecurityactivitieshaschallengedconventional
conceptionsofthestateastheprimaryholderofcoercivepowerandraised
concernsaboutthereductioninstatecontrolovertheuseofviolence.
HannahTonkincriticallyanalysestheinternationalobligationsonthree
keystates–thehiringstate,thehomestateandthehoststateofaPMSC–
and identifies the circumstances in which PMSC misconduct may give
rise to state responsibility. This analysis will facilitate the assessment of
state responsibility in cases of PMSC misconduct and set standards to
guide states in developing their domestic laws and policies on private
security.
hannahtonkincompletedamastersanddoctorateininternationallaw
attheUniversityofOxfordonaRhodesScholarship,afterhavingprevi-
ouslycompleteddegreesinscienceandlawattheUniversityofAdelaide,
Australia.ShehasworkedasalawyerattheUNInternationalCriminal
TribunalfortheformerYugoslaviainTheHagueandtaughtinternational
lawattheUniversityofOxford.SheisnowalawyerattheUNInternational
CriminalTribunalforRwandainArusha,Tanzania.
cambridgestudiesininternationalandcomparativelaw
Establishedin1946,thisseriesproduceshighqualityscholarshipinthefieldsof
publicandprivateinternationallawandcomparativelaw.Althoughthese
aredistinctlegalsub-disciplines,developmentssince1946confirmtheir
interrelations.
Comparativelawisincreasinglyusedasatoolinthemakingoflawatnational,
regionalandinternationallevels.Privateinternationallawisnowoftenaffectedby
internationalconventions,andtheissuesfacedbyclassicalconflictsrulesare
frequentlydealtwithbysubstantiveharmonisationoflawunderinternational
auspices.Mixedinternationalarbitrations,especiallythoseinvolvingstateeconomic
activity,raisemixedquestionsofpublicandprivateinternationallaw,whileinmany
fields(suchastheprotectionofhumanrightsanddemocraticstandards,investment
guaranteesandinternationalcriminallaw)internationalandnationalsystemsinteract.
Nationalconstitutionalarrangementsrelatingto‘foreignaffairs’,andtothe
implementationofinternationalnorms,areafocusofattention.
TheSerieswelcomesworksofatheoreticalorinterdisciplinarycharacter,
andthosefocusingonthenewapproachestointernationalorcomparativelaw
orconflictsoflaw.Studiesofparticularinstitutionsorproblemsareequallywelcome,
asaretranslationsofthebestworkpublishedinotherlanguages.
GeneralEditors JamesCrawfordSCFBA
WhewellProfessorofInternationalLaw,FacultyofLaw,
UniversityofCambridge
JohnS.BellFBA
ProfessorofLaw,FacultyofLaw,UniversityofCambridge
Alistofbooksintheseriescanbefoundattheendofthisvolume.
STATE CONTROL OVER
PRIVATE MILITARY AND
SECURITY COMPANIES IN
ARMED CONFLICT
HANNAH TONKIN
cambridgeuniversitypress
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Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107008014
(cid:2)C HannahTonkin2011
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2011
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Tonkin,Hannah,1981–
Statecontroloverprivatemilitaryandsecuritycompaniesinarmedconflict/
HannahTonkin.
p. cm.–(Cambridgestudiesininternationalandcomparativelaw;80)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-00801-4(hardback)
1.Combatantsandnoncombatants(Internationallaw) 2.Mercenarytroops–
Legalstatus,laws,etc. 3.Privatemilitarycompanies–Lawandlegislation
4.Privatesecurityservices–Lawandlegislation I.Title.
KZ6418.T66 2011
355.3(cid:3)5–dc22 2011013507
ISBN978-1-107-00801-4Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements pageviii
Listofabbreviations x
Tableofcases xii
Tableofstatutes xix
Tableofinternationaltreatiesandconventions xxi
Introduction 1
1 Theprivatesecurityindustryuncovered 6
1.1 Historyofprivatemilitaryactorsininternational
relations 7
1.2 Objectionstoprivateforce,mercenariesandmodern
PMSCs 17
1.3 Thespectrumofprivatemilitaryandsecurity
activitytoday 28
1.4 WhatarePMSCsandwhatdotheydo? 33
1.5 Conclusion 52
2 Stateobligationsandstateresponsibility 54
2.1 Thenatureofinternationalobligationsand
conditionsforbreach 55
2.2 Theattributionofprivatemisconducttothestate 57
2.3 States’obligationstotakepositivestepsto
controlPMSCs 59
2.4 Aframeworkforanalysingduediligenceobligations 64
2.5 Circumstancesprecludingwrongfulness 75
2.6 Consequencesofstateresponsibility 76
v
vi contents
2.7 Conclusion 78
3 TheattributionofPMSCconducttothehiringstate 80
3.1 PMSCsformingpartofthearmedforces 81
3.2 PMSCsempoweredbylawtoexercisegovernmental
authority 99
3.3 PMSCsactingunderstateinstructions,direction
orcontrol 113
3.4 Conclusion 121
4 Obligationsofthehoststate 123
4.1 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderinternational
humanitarianlaw 124
4.2 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderhuman
rightslaw 141
4.3 Howimmunityagreementscanunderminehoststate
controloverPMSCs 166
4.4 Conclusion 170
5 Obligationsofthehiringstate 172
5.1 Constraintsonstates’abilitytohirePMSCsin
armedconflict? 173
5.2 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderinternational
humanitarianlaw 187
5.3 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderhumanrights
law 202
5.4 Conclusion 227
6 Obligationsofthehomestate 229
6.1 Generalobligationtopreventprivateactsharmfulto
otherstates? 230
6.2 ObligationtopreventPMSCinterventioninto
otherstates 233
contents vii
6.3 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderthelawof
neutrality 243
6.4 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderinternational
humanitarianlaw 254
6.5 ObligationstocontrolPMSCsunderhuman
rightslaw 256
6.6 Conclusion 258
Conclusion 260
Bibliography 264
Index 294
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Icouldnothaveproducedthisbookwithouttheassistanceandsupport
of others. It began life as a doctoral thesis completed at the University
of Oxford under the supervision of Dapo Akande and Professor Guy
Goodwin-Gill.Dapo’ssharpintellect,closeattentiontodetailandexten-
siveknowledgeofinternationallawundoubtedlypushedmetoproduce
a better thesis and book. He regularly went beyond the call of duty by
providing feedback from the other side of the world, whether by email
betweenYaleandTheHagueorbyskypebetweenOxfordandAustralia,
andhisflexibilityandtirelessavailabilityenabledmetopursuearangeof
endeavourswhilestillmaintainingastronglevelofsupervisionthrough-
outmydoctorate.Iamalsoextremelygratefultomysupervisorduringthe
finaltermofmydoctorate,ProfessorGuyGoodwin-Gill,whoinvesteda
considerableamountoftimeandenergytocomprehendtheentireproject
atalatestage.Hisfeedbackonthefinaldraftsofmythesisandhisgeneral
adviceontheroadtopublicationwereinvaluable.
DrSarahPercyandDrRogerO’Keefeexaminedmymastersthesisatthe
UniversityofOxford,andtheirexactingstandardshelpedmetoimprove
my work and develop it into a doctoral proposal. My doctoral thesis
examiners, Professors Vaughan Lowe and Nigel White, also provided
helpfulcomments,andIamgratefulfortheirassistance.
The Rhodes Scholarship funded my studies at Oxford for three full
years.IwillforeverbeindebtedtotheRhodesTrustforthefinancialsup-
port,self-confidenceandphenomenalprofessionalandpersonaloppor-
tunities that the Scholarship provided. I was also fortunate to receive a
WingateScholarshipduringthefinalstagesofmydoctorate.
PartsofChapters3,4and5ofthisbookdevelopworkthatappearedin
‘CommonArticle1:AMinimumYardstickforRegulatingPrivateMilitary
and Security Companies’ (2009) 22 Leiden Journal of International Law
779–99.Igratefullyacknowledgethejournal’spermissiontoreprintthe
relevantpassages.
viii
acknowledgements ix
DuringmytimeatOxford,Iwasluckytohavethesupportofnumerous
friends,colleaguesandfamilymembers.Iwouldparticularlyliketothank
thosewhoreviewedvarioussectionsofthedraft,namely,DavidTonkin,
DrJeniWhalan,DrWillFeldmanandDrCarstenHoppe.Finally,Iwould
liketothankmyfamilyforthetirelessloveandsupportthattheyprovided
throughoutmymanyyearsofstudy.