Tens of thousands of contractors work for private military and security companies (PMSCs) in armed conflicts around the world, often hired by states to fulfil functions that were once the exclusive domain of the armed forces. In this context, PMSCs have performed a wide range of activities including offensive combat, prisoner interrogation, military advice and training, armed security, intelligence and logistics. The proliferation of PMSCs during the past two decades has challenged conventional conceptions of the state as the primary holder of coercive power in the international arena. Nonetheless, this Thesis argues that the traditional state-centred frameworks of international law remain vitally relevant to the regulation of private security activity in contemporary armed conflict. Three states are in a strong position to influence PMSCs in this context—the state that hires the PMSC, the state in which the company is based or incorporated, and the state in which the company operates—and this capacity for influence enables international law to regulate PMSC activities indirectly using these states as an intermediary. This Thesis critically analyses the pertinent international obligations on these three categories of states and identifies the circumstances in which PMSC misconduct may give rise to state responsibility in each case. It also examines the recent practice of certain key states in order to evaluate their compliance with these obligations. By providing a clear and in-depth analysis of states' international obligations to control PMSCs in armed conflict, this Thesis may not only facilitate the assessment of state responsibility in cases of PMSC misconduct; it may also play an important prospective role in setting standards of conduct for states in relation to the private security industry. This in turn may encourage and assist states to develop their domestic laws and policies in order to improve overall PMSC compliance with international law.

The definition of terrorism in international law The subject of this graduation thesis is to explore problem of defining terrorism in international law. Although it is very broad topic, the thesis has attempted to explore most of the questions this issue has offered. First of all, it examines reasones why define terrorism in international law. Further this study provides information about perception of the term terrorism in the past depending on the political and social conditions and about how the terrorist attacks influenced the effort to find the definition of terrorism. The thesis pays big attention to regional treaty in which terrorism is defined and uses it as a comparison basis for finding the elements of the definition, since regional international treaty law has achieved the biggest success in this area. However, in the last two decades successes have achieved on universal level, especially by the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, which is the first universal agreement binding defines terrorism. This study also introduces the latest development of efforts to create a Comprehensive Convention on the Suppression of International Terrorism, which is, unfortunately, no more than small. Given the decades-long efforts to define terrorism, the...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carolina Assed Ferreira.pdf: 4430682 bytes, checksum: ca7e24bec4fb85caee4c48c1aa2e45a9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-30 / This thesis analyses the subject of privatization of war through the action of private military companies (PMC) or private security companies (PSC), in view of their vertiginous growth in the present stage of economic globalization, as well as their relation with the energy issue. It analyses, also, the International Law on war, known as Hague Law, and the International Law on the protection of victims in a situation of armed conflict, known as Geneva Law which, in essence, is the International Humanitarian Law. The thesis contextualizes the subject historically and approaches the manner in which decisions on this subject are treated in the United Nations, verifying their impacts on the world peace process. The role of the private military companies and the responsibility over acts of their contracted people, known as new mercenaries , is analyzed. Finally, taking into account both sides of the same reality, combatants on one side, and the treatment given to victims on the other, final conclusions on the subject are made / O presente trabalho é uma análise do tema da privatização da guerra, por meio da atuação de empresas militares privadas (EMP) ou empresas de segurança privadas (ESP), tendo em vista seu crescimento vertiginoso no atual estágio da globalização econômica, bem como sua relação com a questão energética. Analisa-se o tratamento internacional do direito de guerra, denominado Direito de Haia, e o direito de proteção às vitimas em situação de conflito armado, denominado Direito de Genebra, que, em essência, é o Direito Internacional Humanitário propriamente dito. O trabalho contextualiza historicamente o assunto tratado e aborda a maneira pela qual as decisões sobre essa temática são tratadas no âmbito da Organização das Nações Unidas, verificando seus impactos sobre o processo de paz mundial. Analisa-se o papel das empresas militares privadas e a responsabilização sobre os atos de seus contratados, chamados de novos mercenários . Por fim, verificados os dois lados de uma mesma realidade, combatentes de um lado e o tratamento dispensado às vítimas de outro, são feitas as conclusões finais sobre o tema

The 1990’s did not only see the end of the Cold War, it experienced several man-made humanitarian crises, an emerging debate on the responsibility to protect, and an increased number of sanctions. All at the same time. How does these relate to each other? International economic sanctions can be seen as having the purposes of both punishing and making others comply with certain norms (Galtung, 1967:379). I believe that both of these purposes are visible when imposing sanctions as reactions to violations of international humanitarian law. Because of this, I argue that violations of IHL are likely to be met with sanctions. In this thesis, I study whether or not this hypothesis holds true. Specifically, I test the probability of receiving sanctions after the following IHL rules have been violated: the prohibition of child soldiers, torture, use of terror, one-sided violence and sexual violence. Most research on economic sanctions focuses either on their effect on armed conflict, or exclusively on one international institution. This thesis contributes to the research field by presenting a quantitative study on the effect violations of international humanitarian law can have on the imposition of economic sanctions, and whether there is a difference in how different violations are being reacted to.

Les conflits armés ne sont plus ce qu’ils étaient. D’aucuns annoncent la disparition pure et simple de ceux-ci au profit de formes inédites de violence marqués par la multiplicité des acteurs, par la multiplicité des motifs et par la généralisation de nouvelles stratégies et tactiques. Ainsi, le droit international classique opposant la situation de paix à la situation de conflit armé devient peu efficace. Le droit des droits de l’homme étant conçu pour les temps de paix alors que le droit humanitaire est aménagé pour les temps de guerre, la situation de violence reste en deçà du lex lata.Pourtant, entre ces deux situations, s’interpose des situations de violence dont le régime juridique existant n’est pas suffisamment adapté ou du moins n’est pas assez efficace pour protéger les droits des personnes affectées par les situations de violence interne. L’inadaptation des organes de contrôle du DIDH, jonchée de clauses dérogatoires, de nature plutôt réactive et lente, est complétée par des mécanismes de la responsabilité pénale individuelle peu efficace.Cette thèse ambitionne de poser les balises de la domestication de la violence par le droit, dans la perspective de la protection d’un seuil inaltérable « d’humanité ». De la violence à basse intensité à la violence à haute intensité, notre recherche prend au sérieux ces situations de violence et réfléchit, à travers une approche pragmatique et normative, sur le droit désirable et mécanismes susceptibles de réguler la zone « grise » des situations de violence. S’appuyant sur la diversité des actes de violence répertoriés dans la région des Grands Lacs, cette recherche permet de constater que ces violences ne sont pas soumises à une indétermination fondamentale. Le droit humanitaire est tantôt relayé, tantôt suppléé et tantôt supplanté par les nouveaux mécanismes régulateurs des situations de violence. / The armed conflicts are no longer, what they used to be. It is usually stated that armed conflicts have disappeared and have been replaced by other new forms of violence involving multiplicity of actors, multiplicity of motives and overlapping strategies and tactics. In fact, the classical international law makes a clear distinction between the peaceful and armed conflicts situations. The human rights law was conceived to deal with peaceful situations while humanitarian law deals with times of war. The inadequate monitoring organs of the international human rights law which comprises derogatory clauses supplemented by individual liability criminal mechanisms not effective is the gape.However, between these two situations, there is others situations of violence upon which the existing legal system is not adapted or at least, is not effective to protect the rights of internal violence victims.This thesis intends to point out the regulation if violence by means of law in order to guarantee a permanent doorway for the protection of humanity. From less intensive violence to more intensive violence, this study gives due consideration to both situations of violence and through a normative and pragmatic approach, it gives an insight into the desirable law and appropriate mechanisms which can regulate the « grey » matter resulting from violence. Basing on the variety of charges of violence committed in the Great Lakes Region, this research work shows that these types of violence are not subject to a fundamental indefinite law. The humanitarian law is relayed, replaced or supplanted by new mechanisms regulating the situations of violence.

In the current international climate, both nations and individuals increasingly question both the validity and necessity of international organizations. This paper seeks to answer some of those questions, and to determine why countries choose to surrender significant portions of the national power that they are afforded under traditional perceptions of “Westphalian sovereignty”. This question is answered through an analysis of historical political thought on the concept of Sovereignty, then is applied to two case studies: the United Nations and the European Union, in which the benefits and downsides of surrendering sovereignty are discussed. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the concept of Westphalian sovereignty is weakening in the modern world, as the international system gradually adopts new ideas about what national power allows, and reapplies old concepts that had long fallen out of use. Additionally, many of the problems faced by humanity in the present day are too large and complicated to be solved by singular nations, and require concerted international action. Together, these evolving conceptions of sovereignty and increasingly complex global problems have greatly contributed to the growth and empowerment of international organizations.

Der Beitrag erinnert an das wechselvolle Leben des Friedensnobelpreisträgers Henry Dunant, sucht nach biografischen Wurzeln seines von Menschlichkeit und Würde getragenen Verhaltens und macht auf seine Leistungen aufmerksam. Er will aber auch die Frage nach der Bedeutung des humanitären Völkerrechts im Verhältnis von Krieg und Frieden nicht außer Acht lassen. / The article recalls the eventful life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Dunant, looking for biographical roots of his humanity and dignity and points to his achievements. It will also indicate the question of the importance of international humanitarian law in the relationship between war and peace.

I cambiamenti verificatisi nel sistema internazionale nel corso degli ultimi anni hanno avuto una profonda incidenza sul dibattito teorico circa l'uso della forza e i conflitti armati. In particolare, il cambiamento che si è avuto nel warfare ha portato a concentrare l'attenzione su due aspetti particolari della guerra, ovvero la sua giustificazione morale e la relazione tra uso della forza e diritto internazionale. Inoltre, rispetto al passato, la fase successiva ai conflitti assume una rilevanza sempre maggiore. Scopo di questo lavoro è, quindi, da un lato analizzare la teoria della guerra giusta in relazione al diritto internazionale e alle sfide poste dall'attuale sistema internazionale, evidenziandone gli elementi teorici più problematici e, dall'altro, delineare gli elementi normativi necessari per una teoria della pace giusta. Se, infatti, la tradizione teorica relativa a ius ad bellum e ius in bello è ben consolidata, i problemi teorici ed empirici che si pongono circa lo ius post bellum sono nuovi e ancora senza risposta. Il lavoro cerca quindi di formulare gli elementi normativi che dovrebbero regolare lo ius post bellum affinché vengano soddisfatti i requisiti di giustizia post-conflittuale Infine, alla luce degli elementi teorici emersi sono stati analizzati tre conflitti che ben si prestano a valutare empiricamente la teoria della guerra giusta, ovvero il primo conflitto in Iraq del 1991, l'intervento in Kosovo del 1999 e il secondo conflitto in Iraq del 2003. / The changes occurred in the international system during the last decade had a deep influence on the theoretical debate about use of force and armed conflicts. In particular, changes in warfare focused attention on two different aspects of war its moral justifiability and the relation between the use of force and international law. Furthermore, the post-conflict phase is becoming more and more important. The aim of this work is twofold: on one hand, to analyse the relationship between Just War Theory and international law and the challenges raising from the new international system, underlining the most problematic aspects from a theoretical point of view. On the other hand, the aim is to sketch some normative elements of Just Peace Theory. If jus ad bellum and jus in bello theories are well-established, there are many theoretical and empirical problems related to jus post bellum Consequently, this work tries to advance some normative elements required to regulate jus post bellum in order to satisfy requirements of post-conflict justice. Finally, in the light of the elements arisen in the theoretical part of the work, three conflicts particularly relevant for Just War Theory are taken into account: the 1991 war in Iraq, the 1999 intervention in Kosovo e and the 2003 conflict in Iraq.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.