Norms of public international law were originally established to regulate the activities of states. Recognizing that there are more actors than purely state actors on the international level, the project B8 investigates to what extent those actors are bound by and behave in accordance with public international law. We distinguish between three types of actors: state actors, hybrid actors, and private actors.

In each of these cases the same questions arise: Which human rights must be respected by the various actors, concerning both their external activities and their internal proceedings and structure? What standards exist for the transparency of their actions and the participation of the people concerned? To what extent should public international law depart from its traditional state-centred perspective in order to adapt to this new situation, in which hybrid or private actors partially replace the state in areas of limited statehood? The project B8 aims to develop solutions that include the activities of private and hybrid actors in the realm of public international law, and to apply the established standards to a few chosen international and transnational actors:

1. The UN-Interim Administration for Kosovo replaces the state in providing security, basic goods and a functioning governing structure to the population.
2. The USA and Great Britain contract with private security companies, partially entrusting them with the maintenance of security in Iraq.
3. The privately organised International Organisation for Peace Operations (IPOA) establishes standards for the activities of private security providers and monitors their implementation.