States increasingly outsource traditionally public services to private actors (particularly transnational corporations), while some private actors may exercise power in ways that violate citizens’ public law rights. For example, some governments have allowed private security contractors to practice police duties by responding to calls about criminal activity. These cases raise important questions about how to protect citizens’ rights against possible infringements by private actors. How can private actors be held more accountable in respect of citizens’ public law rights, and which interests should private actors be responsible for? The answers to these questions are neither simple nor one-sided, and Jean Thomas’ Public Rights, Private Relations highlights increasing scholarly attention to these key questions. This book offers timely answers and succeeds in specifying the elements of public law rights, developing an alternative account of public law rights, and advancing an alternative theoretical framework for identifying the context-sensitive relations between rights-holders and duty-bearers.
