Watch group criticizes lack of UN policy on use of private security firms
A non-profit United Nations watch group released a report last month criticizing the UN's lack of a comprehensive internal security policy in the face of its own increased reliance on private military and security companies (PMSCs). In...
Supreme Court to hear case on detention incident to search warrant
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Bailey v. United States to determine whether police officers may lawfully detain individuals incident to a search warrant when those individuals have...
JURIST Contributing Editor Chibli Mallat of the University of Utah SJ Quinney College of Law says that there is no true legal distinction between liberators and occupiers, and that because it does not look like there will be a treaty...
Uncertainty for Iraqis as Troops Withdrawal and Private Contractors Remain
JURIST Guest Columnist Leila Sayed-Taha, DePaul University College of Law Class of 2012, currently works as a translator for Ace Languages Centre, where she aids asylum seekers at the Immigration Advisory Service. Here she discusses the ongoing issue of immunity...
Blackwater settles last lawsuit in 2007 Baghdad shooting incident
Blackwater , now known as Academi , reached a confidential settlement agreement Saturday with survivors and families of victims in a 2007 shooting incident in the Nisour Square area of Baghdad that left 17...
Mercenary regulation necessary to protect human rights: UN report
The United Nations Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries released a report on Tuesday claiming that the increase in the use of private military and security companies raises human rights challenges and should be...
US top military official says troops need immunity for continued presence in Iraq
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff , Admiral Mike Mullen , said Tuesday that US troops must be granted immunity in order to remain in Iraq beyond the end-of-the-year deadline. It is up to the...
UN calls for international regulations on independent security contractors
The UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries on Friday proposed international legislation to create mechanisms for prosecuting contractors and mercenaries when they violate the law. The Chairman of the UN Working...
Convicted ex-Blackwater contractor sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for manslaughter
A former contractor for Blackwater , now known as Xe Services , was sentenced Monday to two-and-a-half years in prison for the 2009 shooting of an unarmed Afghan civilian in Kabul. Justin Cannon was...
Blackwater guards challenge reinstatement of manslaughter case
Four former security guards for Blackwater , now known as Xe Services , on Monday filed a petition challenging an appeals court ruling that reinstated a manslaughter case against them. The suit revolves around...
