{
  "id": "RL32419",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32419",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": 345381,
      "date": "2008-09-29",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T03:08:28.774576",
      "title": "Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues",
      "summary": "The United States is relying heavily on private firms to supply a wide variety of services in Iraq, including security. From publicly available information, this is apparently the first time that the United States has depended so extensively on contractors to provide security in a hostile environment, although it has previously contracted for more limited security services in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and elsewhere. In Iraq, private firms known as Private Security Contractors (PSCs) serve to protect individuals, transport convoys, forward operating bases, buildings, and other economic infrastructure, and are training Iraqi police and military personnel.\nBy providing security for reconstruction and stabilization efforts, many analysts and policymakers say, private contractors contribute an essential service to U.S. and international efforts to bring peace to Iraq. Nonetheless, the use of armed contractors raises several concerns, including transparency and accountability. The lack of public information on the terms of the contracts, including their costs and the standards governing hiring and performance, make evaluating their efficiency difficult. 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.\nContractors working with the Department of State or the U.S. military (or with any of the coalition forces) in Iraq are non-combatants who have no combat immunity under international law if they engage in hostilities, and whose conduct may be attributable to the United States. Section 552 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for FY2007 (P.L. 109-364) makes military contractors supporting the Armed Forces in Iraq subject to court-martial, but due to constitutional concerns, it seems more likely that contractors who commit crimes in Iraq would 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). Generally, Iraqi courts do not have jurisdiction to prosecute contractors without the permission of the relevant member country of the Multi-National Forces in Iraq. Some contractors, including those with the State Department, may remain outside the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, civil or military, for improper conduct in Iraq.\nThis report summarizes what is currently known publicly about companies that provide personnel for security missions in Iraq and some sources of controversy surrounding them. A treatment of legal status and authorities follows, including an overview of relevant international law as well as Iraqi law, which currently consists primarily of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) orders that remain in effect until superceded. The various possible means for prosecuting contractors under U.S. law in civilian or military courts are detailed, followed by a discussion of possible issues for Congress, including whether protective services are inherently governmental functions. The report also summarizes pertinent legislative proposals. This report will be updated as events warrant.",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc462301/",
      "id": "RL32419_2008Aug25",
      "date": "2008-08-25",
      "retrieved": "2014-12-05T09:57:41",
      "title": "Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues",
      "summary": "This report summarizes what is currently known publicly about companies that provide personnel for security missions in Iraq and some sources of controversy surrounding them. A treatment of legal status and authorities follows, including an overview of relevant international law as well as Iraqi law, which currently consists primarily of Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) orders that remain in effect until superceded. The various possible means for prosecuting contractors under U.S. law in civilian or military courts are detailed, followed by a discussion of possible issues for Congress, including whether protective services are inherently governmental functions. The report also summarizes pertinent legislative proposals.",
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      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Private police",
          "name": "Private police"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Contractors",
          "name": "Contractors"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government contractors",
          "name": "Government contractors"
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        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Foreign policy",
          "name": "Foreign policy"
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806290/",
      "id": "RL32419_2007Jul11",
      "date": "2007-07-11",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues",
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc813573/",
      "id": "RL32419_2007Jun21",
      "date": "2007-06-21",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
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      "topics": []
    },
    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821099/",
      "id": "RL32419_2004May28",
      "date": "2004-05-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Private Security Contractors in Iraq: Background, Legal Status, and Other Issues",
      "summary": "This report summarizes what is currently known publicly about companies that provide personnel for security missions in Iraq and some sources of controversy surrounding them. The report also summarizes pertinent legislative proposals.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Contractors",
          "name": "Contractors"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Foreign policy",
          "name": "Foreign policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Government contractors",
          "name": "Government contractors"
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      ]
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  ],
  "topics": [
    "Constitutional Questions",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Intelligence and National Security",
    "National Defense"
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}