A/HRC/30/34 18. All four countries have national legislation covering the activities of private security companies,7 including surveillance, the protection and guarding of persons and property or goods, the transportation, protection and shipment of cash, jewels, precious metals and other valuables, and the conduct of investigations. The regulation of the United Kingdom covers services provided by security consultants. In Switzerland, activities related to traffic management, assistance to public authorities, the transport of detainees and private detective services are also regulated. 19. In terms of geographical scope, legislation varies in range and content. The legislation of France and Hungary does not have extraterritorial application.8 Swiss legislation, however, covers not only the activities of local and private security companies9 but also the services provided by such companies hired locally or abroad by the Government10 and by private security companies abroad as well.11 The legal system of the United Kingdom is based on the principle of territoriality, which means that individuals cannot be prosecuted in the United Kingdom for crimes committed abroad (see A/HRC/10/14/Add.2). Licensing, authorization and registration 20. In France and the United Kingdom, the entities that issue authorizations and licences are appointed by or exist within the ministry responsible for internal security. In France, that entity is the departmental prefect (or, in Paris, the police prefect),12 which is accredited by the Council of State, whereas in the United Kingdom, the Security Industry Authority issues licences for the domestic activities of security operatives.13 21. Regarding criteria for authorization, the laws of France and Hungary do not require adherence with human rights standards. However, executives and employees who have been convicted for a misdemeanour or a crime cannot be accredited. 22. In the law of United Kingdom, there is no reference to human rights standards. As the Working Group noted in a 2008 report (A/HRC/10/14/Add.2), companies are chosen according to criteria determined by government procurement services. All contracts contain clauses allowing for the termination of a contract if a human rights violation has been committed. However, there is no formal system specifically to review contracts. 23. According to Swiss legislation, the “competent authorities” can decide to prohibit, wholly or partially, certain activities because they may be contrary to the aims of the law, including services that may be used to commit human rights violations. 24. With regard to registration, none of the countries analysed in the present report require a private military and security companies to undergo a special registration; they just need to undergo general registration in trade and commerce registers. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 6 France has Law No. 83-629; Switzerland has the Concordat on Security Companies of 1996 and the decree on the hiring of private security companies of 2007; Hungary has Act No. CXXXIII of 2005; and the United Kingdom has the Private Security Industry Act of 2001. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Report on Swiss-based Military and Security Service Providers Operating in Crisis and Conflict Regions, Phase II: Comparative Study of Regulatory Approaches (2007). Available at https://www.bj.admin.ch/dam/data/bj/sicherheit/gesetzgebung/sicherheitsfirmen/ber-dcaf-teil2-e.pdf. Concordat on the Services of Private Security Companies of 2010. Decree on the hiring of private security companies of 2007. Federal Act on Private Security Services Provided Abroad of 2013. See Law No. 83-629, arts. 7 and 25. See Private Security Industry Act of 2001, art. 7.