CYIL 2014

342

CAROLLANN BRAUM

CYIL 5 ȍ2014Ȏ

Key words:

Irregular armed forces, Private military contractors, Paramilitaries,

Mercenaries, Ukraine, Aggression, Disarmament, demobilization, reintegration (DDR),

International law.

On the Author:

Carollann Braum is an attorney from the United States. She earned

a Juris Doctor (JD) with honors and a certificate in Health Law from Oklahoma City

University School of Law. She subsequently attended and graduated with honors

from the University of Notre Dame Law School with a Legum Magister (LLM)

in International Human Rights Law. Her practice experience is in Immigration,

International Human Rights, and Civil Rights Law. Prior to practicing law in Denver,

Colorado, she worked with a research organization developing comprehensive practices

to combat human trafficking in the United States, with a focus on organized criminal

enterprises. She is currently a PhD student at Charles University, studying International

Criminal Law, and lives in Prague with her family. In addition to her studies, Carollann

runs the Legal and Business English Institute, where she focuses on teaching technical

legal and business terminology and language to lawyers and business professionals.

1. Introduction

In any conflict, be it an international armed conflict, internal armed conflict or

violence that doesn’t amount to either, there are rules of international law that apply,

either as international humanitarian law, human rights law, or international criminal

law. However, in order to determine the liability for any violations of international

law, it must be clear which types of actors are involved in the conflict. Traditional

members of the armed forces will carry different levels of accountability and protection

than non-traditional fighters, such as mercenaries, paramilitaries and private security

contractors. The focus of this article, therefore, will be on the nature of the actors in

conflict and what responsibility and accountability they may have under international

law. This will also lead to a discussion on whether the use of various types of actors

may be evidence that acts of aggression could have occurred, followed by an analysis

of the need to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate and fighters in the conflict. The

ongoing crisis in Ukraine during 2014, including the alleged claims of the presence

of various non-traditional armed forces, will serve as the basis for this discussion. The

primary aim of this article is to highlight the various international law issues raised by

the use of private military contractors, paramilitaries and mercenaries, possibly sent

by another State, during a conflict.

As the crisis in Ukraine continues to mount, the complexity of the conflict remains

great and the exact identity of some of the actors seem to be a subject of speculation

and uncertainty.

Undoubtedly, there is the Kiev-controlled military, which appears to

be under shaky control, as well as pro-Russian separatists, as they have been commonly

labeled in the media, who are citizens of Ukraine largely fighting for independence

Shaun Walker, “Tensions mount as Ukraine prepares to elect new president,” May 24, 2014,

available at