There is no such thing, in the sense that there is no internationally accepted legal coding that obliges the states, at least theoretically, to observing rules as, in principle, we have the regulations regarding the basic behavior during armed conflicts and protecting the civilian population. As much as possible and when you can. But something exists and I think it is useful to see what, precisely because the use of mercenaries is now in full expansion, as a fully recognized form of the hybrid war that, in itself, has few acceptance definitions.
There is no country of the world that, in its blood history, have not appealed to mercenary units to replace the performance of local armies, most of the times of gathering and bringing people without specific military training, or peasants, or town, calves and crafts recruited, as needed, as well as the Romanian. The mercenaries were professionals who, just as now, offered the services of anyone who paid the requested amounts, not at all interested in the reason why they were called to fight, grouping around any flag during the contract period, without asking questions, subordinating directly to their leader, then, sometimes with the political schedule. They were, from the beginning of the military history, the ideal pawns to be used in the sense that they did not ask questions, they had no moral anguish, they formed the first perfectly solid body in the fight because they knew that the enemy would not consider them prisoners of war, not having a financial value of exchange, and in the best case they were killed immediately, otherwise sent to the pirates. At the same time, they were subordinated to a single rule of absolute value: strictly during the contract period, they were faithful to the one who renting their services, which is why depending on the reputation of the fighting group and the price with which, later, the survivors could negotiate the following commitment. This is how the appetite of many kings and emperors explains, to entrust-with all risks-the personal protection of soldiers to rent, remember in this sense the practice adopted, and to our rulers who, from prudence entitled to the fidelity of the local forces, paid for the traditional time.
The first appearance of the “professionals of death” is considered to be that of the group of the ten thousand in 401 BC. Xenophon reporting that this group of professional fighters received a contract from King Cirus the Young to overthrow his brother, King Artaxerxes on the throne of Persia. The Greek generals tried to negotiate the exit of the troops after Cirus the Younger was killed near Baghdad, but they were betrayed and killed, and Xenophon, writer and mercenary, successfully took over, not only the command of the survivors but also committed them to escape from the place, In this fascinating history of private armies followed, the series of experiences of the “personal guards” that the Roman divisions and chose to replace the Praetorian guards, bringing instead the wild and ruthless mercenaries to the northern lands, but the private armies were constituted, very close to what we know today, in the first European regulations, The white company being, in the 14th century, one of the most powerful mercenaries in Italy. The Swiss guards followed, then the Catalan company or the Varangian Guard of Byzantium.
In the modern version, we can record the formation, just before the launch of the Second World War, of a private American pilot company, The Flying Tigerswho participated in the Chino-Japanese war, supporting Chinese troops, acting under the cover of a private enterprise, Central Air Manufacturing Company. After the war, those in the CIA resume and complete the model and thus was born Camc, the Civil Air Transport Company (CAT), much more known as Air America. About the same period, the British David Stirling creates several companies that hire and use mercenari, WatchGuard International Limited or Mile Alpha Services. A special place in this history belongs to the Frenchman Antoine de Saint-Paul, better known as Bob Denard, considered the man who has almost completely changed the rules that reign in this universe. If you want to see how these private security companies now work, here here https://secoprotec.com/formation-contractor/ one of the market offers.
The code of mercenaries
Correctly said, the full title is this: the document from Montreux regarding the relevant legal obligations and the good practices of the states related to the operations of private military and security companies during armed conflicts. The document (you can access it here https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/event/file_list/montrex_document_en.pdf “is the result of a common initiative launched at the beginning of 2006 by Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Intergovernmental that served as a basis for the elaboration of this document.
Is it important? Yes, because it is the first initiative in the field. But, as the participants want to emphasize, “it is not a compulsory legal text. It presents a set of relevant international legal obligations and good practices.” That being said, the visible intention is for everything to organize itself to a next moment, when a world conference could be organized that will eventually adopt a Document of Geneva Conventions. That is the case, here is the current legislative frame https://www.montrexdocument.org/resources/tools.html
- Le Document de Montreux (PDF, 128 Pages, 786.7 KB, Français)
- Réglementation des Entreprises Militaires et de Sécurité Privées (PDF, 2 Pages, 1.9 MB, Français)
- Das Montreux-Dokument (PDF, 48 Pages, 290.5 KB, Anglais)
- Konferenz Montreux+5: Schlussfolgerrung des Vorsitzes (EN) (PDF, 5 Pages, 180.4 KB)
- Regulierung von Privaten militär- und sicherheitsform (EN) (PDF, 2 Pages, 1.9 MB, Anglais)
In December 2014 the forum of the document from Montreux was constituted and it is an informal consultation platform between the signators of the document for the purpose of its application at national level and in supporting the steps aimed at participating in other states and organizations in promoting and applying its provisions. Successfully, because, here, on September 21, 2023, Romania officially decided https://www.montrexdocument.org/news/romania_mdf.html to adopt the document from Montreux, becoming, at that time, the 59th signatory state, now their number being 61.
What should Romania have to do from the moment, officially, has expressed its support for the document from Montreux? Here you have https://sgg.gov.ro/1/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/memo-3.pdf a complete answer, in the form of a memorandum approved by Marcel Ciolacu, Prime Minister of Romania at that time. It is a text that really deserves to be read because it means or can mean many things because its implications involve current but also possible actions in delicate moments in international relations.
So?
In conclusion, let's wait for prudent because, as Mrs. Țoiu said from the General Assembly of the UN, “we live unprecedented times in history.”
