Private Security Services and Law

Chair of Maritime Law and General Transport Law

Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb

Summer Semester

 

ERASMUS Course: Private Security Services and Law

 

The issue of security, traditionally under direct control and responsibility of states, came under severe scrutiny during the last two decades, due to, among other factors, a constant increase in private actors’ engagement in providing security services in the private as well as public domain, often within a public private partnership structure.

The purpose of course is to provide students with the understanding of principal concepts with regard the term security in the modern setting. The course will examine the national law experience in regulating the private security services, with special focus on the issues of licensing, registration, control, accountability, transparency and standards performance. The course will further analyze civil and criminal responsibility of security service providers in comparison with public security service providers. Parallel to national law regulation, the course will additionally examine both the international regulatory framework, as well as the self-regulation efforts made by the industry, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. A special focus will be devoted to the operation of private military and security companies in accordance with the International Law of Armed Conflict. Finally, the course will analyze current trends in the private security industry, such as is the provision of maritime security services, airport security services, cyber security services, policing services and services connected to the protection of critical infrastructure.

 

ECTS: 4, 30 hours of lecture

 

First meeting: Tuesday, 27th February 2018, at 9:00h. Faculty of Law Trg Republike Hrvatske 3 (smaller building) Lecture Hall IV, 3rd floor

Regular class: Every Tuesday, 8:15-12 Faculty of Law Trg Republike Hrvatske 3 (smaller building) Lecture Hall IV, 3rd floor   Starting on: 27th February 2018 Ending on: 3rd April 2018 Examination period: 9th – 11th April 2018

 

 

Contact:

Assistant Professor Mišo Mudrić

miso.mudric@pravo.hr

 

More information available at: https://www.pravo.unizg.hr/POP/en/course/pssal

 

Detailed description of the course

 

1. 1. 1. 1. Introduction to Private Security Services

 

• The Notion and Definition of Security
• Historical Perspective
• Private Security Services Providers
• Modern Private Military and Security Companies
• Types of Private Security Services

 

1. 1. 1. 2. National Regulation of Private Security Services

 

• Licensing and Registration
• Standards Performance
• Civil Liability of Private Security Contractors
• Criminal Liability of Private Security Contractors
• Security Services Export (Cases of United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia)
• Control and Accountability
• Transparency

 

1. 1. 1. 3. International Regulation of Private Security Services

 

• EU Regulation
• UN Working Group on Mercenaries
• International Traffic in Arms Regulation

 

1. 1. 1. 4. Self-Regulation of Private Security Services

 

• Montreux Document
• International Code of Conduct and the Association of International Code of Conduct
• Industry Associations

 

1. 1. 1. 5. International Law of Armed Conflict

 

• Geneva Conventions
• The Issue of Non-Combatants
• Military Chain of Command
• Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

 

1. 1. 1. 6. Responsibility and Liability Case Practice

 

• Armed Personnel Case Study
• Private Contractors Case Study

 

1. 1. 1. 7. Licensing and Operation in Practice

 

• Licensing and Operation of Private Maritime Security Providers
• Licensing and Operation of Private Security Airport Security

 

1. 8. Cyber Security and Private Security Providers

 

• Definition of Information Security
• Aspects of Information Security
• Information Security in Digital Domain
• Key Concepts of Information Systems and Access Control
• Security Policy
• Technological and Organizational Aspects of Information Security

1. 9. Modern Trends in Private Security Services – 4 hours

 

• Privatization of Public Security Services
• Civil-Military Cooperation in Peacekeeping Operations
• Policing and Private Security Companies
• Protection of Critical Infrastructure

 

 

GENERAL AND SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE

 

After completing the course, the students will be able to:

 

• Comprehend the security matrix in the modern world,
• Understand the legislative framework of security services regulation,
• Critically assess the relationship between the public and private security,
• Understand the function and importance of self-regulation,
• Understand the private security providers’ exposure to civil and criminal liability,
• Assess the further development of public private partnership in providing security services.

 

LITERATURE

 

On the first class, the students will be presented with the working materials handbook, which will include, among other, all the compulsory literature selected sections.

 

1. Cameron, L., Chetail, V., Privatizing War: Private Military and Security Companies under Public International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013) – selected sections
2. Collins, A. (ed.), Contemporary Security Studies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, 3^rd ed) – selected sections
3. Isenberg, D., Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq (Westport: Praeger Security International, 2009) – selected sections
4. Nemeth, C. P., Private Security and the Law (Oxford: Elsevier, 2012, 4^th ed) – selected sections
5. Tonkin, H., State Control over Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011) – selected sections
6. White, A., The Politics of Private Security: Regulation, Reform and Re-Legitimation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) – selected sections