Contractor Personnel

As the demand for contractor support of deployed armed forces surged because of the post 9/11 military operations and legal issues continued to arise, the position of contractors in a foreign State and their relationship with the visiting forces was acknowledged in a number of mission specific SOFAs with host States. Notwithstanding the close relationship between contractors and deployed forces, their position is fundamentally different from the traditional categories of personnel covered by SOFA provisions. As contractors are civilian entities, operating outside the military chain of command and are linked to the hiring State only through the terms of private law contracts, their divergent position warrants closer consideration. This Chapter explores the rights and obligations of contractors under contemporary SOFA provisions with a particular emphasis on criminal jurisdiction.