South Africans offering Foreign Military Assistance Abroad: How real is the Risk of Domestic Prosecution?

Authors

  • Shannon Joy Bosch UKZN

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2018/v21i0a1721

Keywords:

foreign military assistance, private security, domestic prosecution, ISIS

Abstract

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. It discusses the motivations behind recent attempts to deny the citizenship of South African nationals who had taken up employment abroad in the private security industry. The article gives some guidance regarding the likelihood of prosecution for the new school of South African fighters taking up arms for foreign causes like ISIS, the IDF, and Nigeria.

 

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Author Biography

Shannon Joy Bosch, UKZN

BA (Hons) LLB (University of Natal) LLM (Cambridge) PhD (UKZN). Associate Professor in Law, Howard College School of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban; Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

References

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Published

11-04-2018

How to Cite

Bosch, S. J. (2018). South Africans offering Foreign Military Assistance Abroad: How real is the Risk of Domestic Prosecution?. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 21, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2018/v21i0a1721

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