Private Military Companies: Some Legal Issues‪.‬

ABSTRACT Among the many controversies surrounding the United States' military invasion of Iraq in 2003 is the role played by the private security industry in providing a wide range of services to the military forces of the countries involved in the conflict. Public attention has also shifted to South Africa when it became known that private security firms are also actively recruiting South African ex-military operatives for service in Iraq. This contribution focuses on some legal issues relating to the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, international law on state responsibility and South African legislation.