Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues

The United States is relying heavily on private firms to supply a wide variety of services, including security, in Iraq. In Iraq, private companies are currently providing security services such as the protection of individuals, nonmilitary transport convoys, buildings, and other economic infrastructure, as well as the training of Iraqi police and military personnel. U.S. contracts for these services are issued by, or on behalf of, the Coalition Provisional Authority CPA, the U.S.-led entity that is currently exercising sovereign authority in Iraq. The use of armed contractors raises several concerns for many Members, including transparency and accountability. Transparency issues include the lack of public information on the terms of their contracts, including their costs and the standards governing their performance, as well as the background and training of those hired under contract. The apparent lack of a practical means to hold contractors accountable under U.S. law for abuses and other transgressions, and the possibility that they could be prosecuted by foreign courts, is also a source of concern. Contractors working with the U.S. military in Iraq are noncombatants who have no combat immunity under international law if they engage in hostilities, and whose conduct may be attributable to the United States. Contractors are not likely to be subject to military law, but may be prosecuted under criminal statutes that apply extraterritorially or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or by means of the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act MEJA. However, there is little precedent for trying contractor employees for crimes committed overseas. At least until June 30, 2004, when the CPA is scheduled to transfer sovereignty to Iraq and dissolve, Iraqi courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute contractors without the permission of the CPA.