The Evolution of International Legal Regulation for the Activities of Private Military and Security Companies

Over the past decades, the activities of private military and security companies (PMSCs) have become diverse and expanded geographically. PMSC employees are engaged in logistics, intelligence activities, supply and maintenance of weapons systems, including armed conflicts. One of the US Department of Defense guidelines notes that there are significant benefits to the US government in engaging PMSCs. Contractors, unlike regular military personnel, can get to work on specific tasks faster due to their mobility of deployment. This flexibility allows for timely adjustments to foreign policy in order to achieve national interests. The activities of PMSC personnel are associated with high risk to life, which requires the adoption of a regulatory mechanism to ensure legal protection, including in the exercise of social rights and guarantees in connection with participation in armed conflicts. States have been discussing mechanisms to regulate PMSCs for over 15 years, but no international treaty on the issue has been adopted yet. PMSCs do not operate in a “legal vacuum”, but some aspects require a special international legal regime. The purpose of the article is to study draft documents proposed by experts from various UN platforms and the prospects for international legal regulation of the activities of PMSC activities.