100 Series Rules for Use of Force Issued
The 100 Series Rules for the Use of Force (RUF), released earlier this month, are the first set of international guidelines for the recruitment of privately contracted armed security personnel onboard vessels.
Lloyd's List reports:
International rules for the use of force published
The 100 Series offers no immunity against unlawful force
THE 100 Series rules for the use of force has been released after a 20-month consultation period.
Author David Hammond, a UK barrister-at-law and maritime lawyer, said the 100 Series RUF is intended to be the first international model set of RUF for the benefit of and use by the entire maritime industry.
However, he warned: “The 100 Series RUF will not provide any form of indemnity or immunity whatsoever against civil or criminal liability when force has been used unlawfully.”
The RUF will go towards providing an international model set RUF against which privately contracted armed security personnel may be professionally trained; private maritime security companies may be audited and operator actions be both measured and judged by competent authorities, Mr. Hammond said.
“It is also the first model set of RUF to take into account the requirement to address human rights in terms of the use of force at sea,” he said.
The 100 Series RUF does not bind flag states but “instead provides a choice for their potential incorporation into national guidance as determined by respective governments and competent authorities”.
“The current text has been a long time in its development,” Mr. Hammond said.
“I expect there to be detractors and critics, but up to this point, no one else has produced anything which is comparable in terms of substance and which has undergone such operator, commercial and legal scrutiny from across the maritime industry and over such a long period of time.
“The point of this document is not one of imposition upon entities, but one of choice against which one can make an informed decision when reviewing and comparing RUF. At its core is the basic principle of the individual right of self-defence; itself a universal concept.”
The 100 Series Rules complement current industry RUF guidance on the drafting of RUF, as well as supporting the requirements of the International Organisation for Standardisation’s standard for private maritime security companies ISO PAS 28007, Mr. Hammond said.
The 100 Series Rules text has been submitted to and has been accepted by the International Organisation for Standards on March 29 this year as a work item for review in conjunction with ISO PAS 28007.
It was submitted to the International Maritime Organization on April 24 as an information paper for inclusion at its maritime safety committee in June.
For further information, visit http://www.100seriesrules.com.
