Ian M. Ralby
1750 K Street, N.W.
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
phone: +1 202 331-4040
fax: +1 202 331-4011
email: iralby@pkrllp.com
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Ian Ralby is a leading expert on the regulation of private security companies—specifically those providing armed security services in hostile environments and those engaged in anti-piracy operations. He also has extensive expertise in international criminal law, international conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction, national and international security and political negotiation. His prior legal practice concentrated on admiralty and maritime law.
Based in Europe, Dr. Ralby’s practice now concentrates on public international law and matters involving sovereign states including the representation of governments and governmental entities. At the same time, Dr. Ralby is actively and centrally engaged in international efforts to regulate and govern the provision of private security services. One of the drafters and negotiators of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers, Dr. Ralby currently serves on the Working Group for the drafting of an American National Standard for Private Security Companies; all three Working Groups for the development of an International Governance and Oversight Mechanism for the industry; and the Executive Committee of the Security in Complex Environments Group at Aerospace, Defence, Security Group, Ltd., the organization with which the UK Government has partnered in order to develop and implement robust regulation of the British private security industry.
PUBLICATIONS
- Private Military and Security Companies on Land and At Sea, Chapter in Oxford Handbook on the Prohibition of the Use of Force, Forthcoming 2012.
- Maritime Security and the ICoC, Journal of International Peace Operations, Vol. 7 No. 3, Nov.-Dec. 2011.
- Navies Without Ships: Examining Systemic Challenges Facing Maritime Security in Africa, Journal of International Peace Operations, Vol. 6 No. 2, Sept.-Oct. 2010.
- Joint Criminal Enterprise Liability in the Iraqi High Tribunal, 28 B.U. INT’L L.J. 281 (2010).
- Regulating Private Security in Sierra Leone, Journal of International Peace Operations, Vol. 5 No. 4, Jan.-Feb. 2010.
- Prosecuting Cultural Property Crimes in Iraq, 37 GEO. J. INT’L L. 165 (2005).
SPEECHES
- The Challenges of Making the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers a Functional Reality, Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan: Researching Today’s Private Military and Security Industry, Kings College London, UK, Nov. 2011
- Piracy, Workshop on Private Military and Security Companies, Institute for International Humanitarian Law, San Remo, Italy, Oct. 2011
- Regulation of Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflicts, Royal Institute for International Affairs at Chatham House, London, UK, Oct. 2011
- Examining the Legal Twilight Surrounding the Transnational Operation of Private Military and Security Companies, William & Mary Law School, Williamsburg, VA, USA, March 2011
- Nailing Jelly to the Wall: Attempting to Regulate Private Military and Security Companies, Oxbridge Summer Programs, Cambridge, UK, July 2010
- The Interplay of Post-Conflict Legal Reform and Private Security in Sierra Leone, Centenary Celebration of The Round Table Journal: Small States in the International Political Economy, Cambridge, UK, Nov. 2009
- Judging Iraq: Evaluating the Jurisprudence of the Iraqi High Tribunal, Cambridge Festival of Ideas, Cambridge, UK, Oct. 2009
- Judging Iraq: The Saddam Hussein Trial and Post Conflict Justice, Cambridge International Development Course, Cambridge, UK, May 2009
- Cultural Property in Iraq, Cambridge Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge, UK, Feb. 2008
- The Iraqi High Tribunal, Central Business District Association of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, VA, USA, Nov. 2005
- Prosecuting Saddam Hussein, Virginia Governor’s School, Williamsburg, VA, USA, Aug. 2005
