Codes of Conduct for Private Military and Security Companies: The State of Self-Regulation in the Industry

Abstract

The present paper aims to assess the state of self-regulatory initiatives, often identified under the heading of "corporate social responsibility", in the Private Military and Security industry. It takes into account substantive regulation and its implementation. The analysis focuses on Codes of Conduct (CoC), including best practices and ethics declarations initiated by firms, designed to apply to the provision of coercive services in contexts of armed conflict.