This dissertation seeks to demonstrate the practical possibilities of holding arms companies liable under the common law of torts as a possible instrument in support of the enforcement of public international law and international human rights law. The United Kingdom is used as primary example because its tort law has been widely spread across the world by colonialism, so any case that is successful in the UK may be successful in other common law countries with (relatively) little modification. This increases the relevance of this dissertation. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Prof Alejandro Lorite of the Department of Law, American University - Cairo. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM