Guns for Hire, States in Ruin: An International Regulatory Framework to Combat the Exploitation of Weak States by Private Military Companies

By: Joshua Hiero

PDF: Guns for Hire

Modern Private Military Companies (PMCs) possess the tools and capabilities of full-fledged militaries, while using the corporate form to obtain financing, avoid legal accountability, and shield their true identities. These PMCs have increasingly been operating in weak states where they act with impunity knowing that they are beyond the reach of the law. This Note will demonstrate the difficulties of keeping PMCs accountable in active conflicts where hiring states have every incentive to overlook misconduct, and home countries lack extraterritorial jurisdiction to reign these PMCs in. Existing domestic law, international law, and industry self-regulation has thus far been inadequate in preventing PMCs from exploiting the weak states in which they operate. This Note will contribute to existing scholarship on PMC regulation by advancing a novel UN certification framework that certifies and monitors PMCs for human rights violations. This framework will impose standards on PMCs, ensure compliance by home and hiring states, all while keeping the industry an integral part of the global security structure.