Research Discussion: Katherine Fallah for 22 November 2011

 
This paper considered the history of mercenary prosecutions in Africa and examined the extent to which such prosecutions draw from or contribute to international law. The title of the paper is taken from the judgment in the trial of thirteen mercenaries before the Angolan People's Revolutionary Court in 1976, and captures an anti-mercenary sentiment which is frequently dismissed in present-day regulatory debates about private military force. The paper found that mercenary prosecutions in Africa remain relevant to the broader debate, as they demonstrate the inseparability of 'traditional mercenarism' from 'private military and security companies', and the facts giving rise to the prosecutions indicate that modern mercenarism in Africa bears out some of the central concerns about about the privatisation of military force. That said, there is still very little state practice of prosecution for specific 'mercenary' offences, and the case law demonstrates the extraordinary practical difficulties in securing convictions whilst guaranteeing defendant rights.