Shannon Bosch

• BA (Honours) LLB LLM (Cantab) Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Associate) at Edith Cowan University

Using the current conflict in northern Mozambique as a case study, we argue that the South African government and its current legislation on private military and security companies (PMSCs) has prevented it from being a more effective agent for peace in the region. South Africa’s current legislation – the Foreign Military Assistance Act of 1998 (FMA...

The tragic killing of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Turkey has once again exposed the potential for abuse of privileges afforded diplomatic and consular missions. This incident, which involves torture and murder, occurred at a time when there was, and still is, a growing body of international jurisprudence that demands accountability fo...

Torture ‘Lite’ in the War Against Boko Haram: Taming the Wild Zone of Power in Cameroon

This article discusses the efficacy of the existing Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act 15 of 1998, and the proposed Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in the Country of Armed Conflict Act 27 of 2006, in regulating the private security industry and prosecuting those in contravention of the legislation...

South Africa has adopted two pieces of legislation since 1998 aimed at restricting one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy: the private security industry. Not only is this legislation completely unique, but it appears wholly at odds with international opinion. In this article we place private security contractors (PSCs) under the m...

This paper examines countervailing South African public opinion on the subject of prostitution in South Africa, and identifies the factors which might influence these attitudes. It also investigates the complex relationship between public opinion and the law. Whilst engaging in prostitution constitutes a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences A...

The phrase "direct participation in hostilities" has a very specific meaning in international humanitarian law (IHL). Those individuals who are clothed with combatant status are authorised to participate directly in hostilities without fear of prosecution, while civilians lose their civilian immunity against direct targeting whilst they participate...

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) publication Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities under International Humanitarian Law, all civilians (including child soldiers) lose their immunity from direct targeting ‘for so long as’ their actions amount to direct participation in hostilities....

Today, private military and security contractors (PMSCs), with their specialised skills and ability to deploy rapidly, outnumber traditional armed forces in conflict zones. Questions around their status, what they can be contracted to do, and their regulation under existing international law, are becoming more pressing. The domestic regulatory regi...

Private Security Contractors And Neutral Relief Workers – An Unlikely Marriage?

Targeting Decisions Involving Voluntary Human Shields In International Armed Conflicts: In Light Of The Prohibition Against Civilian Direct Participation In Hostilities’

This paper examines countervailing South African public opinion on the subject of prostitution in South Africa, and identifies the factors which might influence these attitudes. It also investigates the complex relationship between public opinion and the law. Whilst engaging in prostitution constitutes a criminal offense under the Sexual Offenses A...

Armed conflict on the African continent has witnessed increasing recruitment of child soldiers, often at the hands of non-state armed groups. Unfortunately this practice continues unabated in the face of legal obligations prohibiting the recruitment of child soldiers under international humanitarian law, and international and regional human rights...

Private military and security contractors: a face-off with the notion of direct participation in hostilities, in international armed conflicts’

The Combatant Status of “Under-aged” Child Soldiers Recruited by Irregular Armed Groups in International Armed Conflicts’

Targeting and prosecuting “under-aged” Child Soldiers in International Armed Conflicts, in Light of the International Humanitarian Law Prohibition Against Civilian Direct Participation in Hostilities’

South Africa has adopted two pieces of legislation since 1998 aimed at restricting one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy: the private security industry. Not only is this legislation completely unique, but it appears wholly at odds with international opinion. In this article we place private security contractors (PSCs) under the m...

This paper examines the Israeli raid on six aid vessels bound for Gaza on 31 May 2010, in light of customary International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In exploring the international law implications of these events, the concepts of a legal maritime blockade and the use of force to impose such a blockade are unpacked. The article considers whether the u...

Relief workers deployed in conflict-torn African states are especially vulnerable to a variety of risks, including being taken hostage, being injured as part of collateral damage, or being detained. This piece focuses on how international humanitarian law (IHL) responds to the acts that give rise to these particular risks, whether they are perpetra...

Relief Workers: the Hazards of Offering Humanitarian Assistance in the Theatre of War

Journalists: Shielded from the Dangers of War in their Pursuit of the Truth?

Casting Lead and Breaking Rules

In recent international armed conflicts private security contractors (PSCs) have played an ever increasing role and military advisors and tribunals are facing the dilemma of assessing the primary and secondary status of PSCs under international humanitarian law. In this article the misconception that PSCs are necessarily mercenaries will be dispell...

Voluntary Human Shields: Status-less in the Crosshairs?

Torture Lite in the Wild Zone of Power’

‘Geneva Under Siege’

Immunities and Universal Jurisdiction: The World Court Steps In (or On?)