This paper aims to address two questions at the centre of the PRIV-WAR project. Firstly, what legislation and regulative frameworks for the regulation of private military and security companies (PMCs/PSCs) providing services in combat zones exist in the European Union today? Secondly, what options are there for improving these regulations in order to ensure the responsibility and accountability of these companies and their compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law? The EU has been one of the key promoters of improved regulation. However, current controls within the EU apply only to a small range of services provided by PMCs/PSCs. The main gaps in the existing regulatory framework at the national and EU levels concern the registration and licensing of PMCs and the export of private military and security services outside the EU. To address these gaps this paper outlines nine policy options which would singly or in combination improve the transparency, accountability and control of PMCs/PSCs.

This working paper examines the legal nature, interpretation and scope of application of fundamental rights in the European Union in light of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The authors review the sources of fundamental rights protection and confirm that this protection, as applied prior to the Charter coming into force, remains in effect. In spite of the Charter, due regard should continue to be given to the shared constitutional traditions and the case-law of the Strasbourg Court, in particular when it comes to the interpretation of the Charter. The paper also addresses issues that arise with regard to the future accession of the Union to the European Convention of Human Rights. Additionally, close examination of the position of EU fundamental rights in the legal order of the Union reveals that Member States are bound by these rights only when they act within the scope of application of EU law. The Charter does not alter this system either. Finally, following discussion of the opt-outs from the Charter, it is concluded that the overall impact of the Charter is likely to be anything but revolutionary. Moreover, the paper offers a special perspective on EU fundamental rights: it suggests that the Kücükdeveci case reaches beyond the Charter in that it introduces direct horizontal application of an EU fundamental right in cases of age discrimination. However, the authors also caution that this judgment should not be overrated, as it seems unlikely that the Court intended to systematically extend the effect of EU fundamental rights.

The aim of this paper is to assess the potential impact of national-level or EU-level regulation on the international activities of private military security companies (PMSCs). It will do this by first examining the actual impact of national-level regulation of the domestic activities of PMSCs in the UK. It will then build upon this analysis to make observations about the potential impact of nationallevel and EU-level regulation on the international activities of PMSCs. Because there is a similarity between the regulatory structures and private organisations in this comparison, the conclusions drawn in this paper will, it is hoped, provide some insight into the potential impact of any internationallyfocused PMSC regulation.