Law's impunity : responsibility and the modern private military company / Hin-Yan Liu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Liu, Hin-Yan, author.

Series:

Studies in international law (Oxford, England)

Studies in International law ; v. 56

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Intervention (International law).

Private military companies--Law and legislation.

Private military companies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (402 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom ; Portland, Ore. : Hart Publishing, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"When faced with those who act with impunity, we seek the protection of law. We rely upon the legal system for justice, from international human rights law that establishes common standards of protection, to international criminal law that spearheads efforts to end impunity for the most heinous atrocities. While legal processes are perceived to combat impunity, and despite the ready availability of the law, accountability often remains elusive. What if the law itself enables impunity? Law's Impunity asks this question in the context of the modern Private Military Company (PMC), examining the relationship between law and the concepts of responsibility and impunity. This book proposes that ordinary legal processes do not neutralise, but rather legalise impunity. This radical idea is applied to the abysmal record of human rights violations perpetrated by the modern PMC and the shocking absence of accountability. This book demonstrates how the law organises, rather than overcomes, impunity by detailing how the modern PMC exploits ordinary legal processes to systematically exclude itself from legal responsibility. Thus, Law's Impunity offers an alternative to conventional thinking about the law, providing an innovative approach to assess and refine the rigour of legal processes in the ongoing quest to end impunity."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Introduction

1. Law's Impunity

2. The Modern Private Military Company

3. Law's Failure to Marginalise and Criminalise Mercenary Activity

4. Passive Private Military Company Impunity

5. Active Private Military Company Impunity

6. The Future of Private Military Impunity

7. Conclusion

Notes:

"The origin of this project was a dissertation written at University College London and subsequently published in the Journal of conflict and security law"--Page viii.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781474202749

1474202748

9781782259633

1782259635

OCLC:

919495723