The need for a strict and clearly established legal framework accepted by States and PMSCs; the importance of effective accountability mechanisms for the conduct of private contractors; the ever blurred distinction between civilians and combatants and the uncertainty surrounding the legal status and obligations of PMSCs, are only some of the issues arising from the increasing use of private contractors in different international scenarios. Consequently, the necessity to give further contributions to the international debate on the legal and normative development of private security regulatory frameworks, without forgetting the importance of political and technical considerations, led the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, with the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to focus the works of the XXXV Round Table on this important and challenging topic. The Round Table gathered together around 200 participants from the different regions of the world including military experts, academics and representatives of governments, international organizations, IHL practitioners and NGOs which spent two to discuss IHL related detention key issues.