The conduct of armed conflict is increasingly being outsourced to private military and security companies, whose legal position remains unclear. This book identifies and analyses the human rights and humanitarian law framework applicable to these companies, examining how they can be held to account and how victims can obtain remedies.

SECURITY AND POLICY PERSPECTIVES ; 1. Policy Prospects for Regulating Private Military and Security Companies ; 2. The Use of Private Contractors in the Fight against Piracy: Policy Options ; HUMAN RIGHTS ; 3. The Role of Human Rights in the Regulation of Private Military and Security Companies ; 4. The Impact of the EU Human Rights System on Operations of Private Military and Security Companies ; 5. The Role of the Home State in Ensuring Compliance with Human Rights by Private Military Contractors ; 6. Positive Human Rights Obligations of the Hiring State in Connection with the Provision of Coercive Services by a Private Military And Security Company ; 7. Duties to Prevent, Investigate and Redress Human Rights Violations by Private Military and Security Companies: The Role of the Host State ; 8. Adjudicating Human Rights Violations Committed by Private Contractors in Conflict Situations before the European Court of Human Rights ; 9. The Right to Life and Self-Defence of Private Military and Security Contractors in Armed Conflict ; INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW ; 10. Private Military and Security Companies in Non-International Armed Conflicts: Ius ad Bellum and Ius in Bello Issues ; 11. Private Military Companies as "Persons who Accompany the Armed Forces" ; 12. Private Military and Security Companies in Non-International Armed Conflicts: Ius ad Bellum and Ius in Bello Issues ; 13. Children's Rights: The Potential Impact of Private Military and Security Companies ; 14. Women and Private Military and Security Companies ; 15. Private Military and Security Companies and the EU's Crisis Management: Perspectives under Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law ; 16. Old Concepts and New Challenges: Are Private Contractors the Mercenaries of the 21st Century? ; ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF PRIVATE CONTRACTORS ; 17. The Role of International Regulatory Initiatives on Business and Human Rights for Holding Private Military and Security Contractors to Account ; 18. Codes of Conduct for Private Military and Security Companies: The State of Self-regulation in the Industry ; 19. Institutional Responsibility for Private Military and Security Contractors ; 20. State Responsibility for Conduct of PMSC Violating Ius ad Bellum ; CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LIABILITY OF PRIVATE MILITARY AND SECURITY COMPANIES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES ; 21. The Criminal Responsibility of PMSC Personnel under International Humanitarian Law ; 22. Immunity for Private Contractors: Legal Hurdles or Political Snags? ; 23. Liability in Tort of Private Military and Security Companies: Jurisdictional Issues and Applicable Law

Provides a comprehensive analysis of the application of human rights and international humanitarian law to the work of private military and security companies Addresses questions of a highly topical nature, such as the use of private contractors in the fight against piracy, the accountability and criminal and civil liability of such contractors, and remedies available to victims Combines legal research with an analysis of how policies are shaped, highlighting the need for legal analysis in a politically sensitive field

Francesco Francioni has a doctorate in law from the University of Florence and an LLM from Harvard. He is Professor of international law and human rights at the European University Institute in Florence, where he is also Co-Director of the Academy of European Law. He was previously Professor of international law at the University of Siena and Visiting Professor at the Universities of Oxford, Cornell, and Texas. Natalino Ronzitti is Professor of international law at the LUISS University School of Law, Rome. He has given conferences and lectures in numerous foreign universities and institutions, including the Hague Academy of International Law. In addition to his academic career, he has been occasionally acted as a consultant for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Defence. He has also served as Legal Advisor for the Italian Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament (Geneva).

Provides a comprehensive analysis of the application of human rights and international humanitarian law to the work of private military and security companies Addresses questions of a highly topical nature, such as the use of private contractors in the fight against piracy, the accountability and criminal and civil liability of such contractors, and remedies available to victims Combines legal research with an analysis of how policies are shaped, highlighting the need for legal analysis in a politically sensitive field