Belligerent military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army A belligerent is an individual, group, country or other entity which acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. Belligerent comes from Latin, literally meaning "to wage war". Unlike the colloquial use of belligerent to mean aggressive, its formal use does not necessarily imply that the belligerent country is an aggressor. Also,.

Military occupation and the laws of war

From the second half of the 1700's onwards, international law has come to distinguish between the military occupation of a country and territorial acquisition by invasion and annexation, the difference between the two being originally expounded upon by Emerich de Vattel in The Law of Nations (1758). The distinction then became clear and has been recognized among the principles of international law since the end of the Napoleonic wars in the 1800's. These customary laws of belligerent occupation which evolved as part of the laws of war The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct (jus in bello). The law of war is considered an aspect of public international law (the law of nations) and is distinguished from other bodies of law, such as the domestic law of a particular belligerent to a conflict, gave some protection to the population under the military occupation of a belligerent power.

The Hague Conventions of 1907 The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international law. A third conference was further clarified and supplemented these customary laws. Specifically "Laws and Customs of War on Land" (Hague IV); October 18, 1907: "Section III Military Authority over the territory of the hostile State."^[1] The first two articles of that section state:

Art. 42.

Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.

The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised.

Art. 43.

The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety, while respecting, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country.

In 1949 these laws governing belligerent occupation of an enemy state's territory were further extended by the adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone, and outlaws the practice of total (GCIV). Much of GCIV is relevant to protected persons in occupied territories and Section III: Occupied territories is a specific section covering the issue.

Article 6 restricts the length of time that most of GCIV applies:

The present Convention shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article 2.

In the territory of Parties to the conflict, the application of the present Convention shall cease on the general close of military operations.

In the case of occupied territory, the application of the present Convention shall cease one year after the general close of military operations; however, the Occupying Power shall be bound, for the duration of the occupation, to the extent that such Power exercises the functions of government in such territory, by the provisions of the following Articles of the present Convention: 1 to 12, 27, 29 to 34, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 59, 61 to 77, 143.

GCIV emphasised an important change in international law. The United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on June 26, 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries . It entered into force on October 24, 1945, after being (June 26, 1945) had prohibited war of aggression (See articles 1.1, 2.3, 2.4) and GCIV Article 47, the first paragraph in Section III: Occupied territories, restricted the territorial gains which could be made through war by stating:

Protected persons who are in occupied territory shall not be deprived, in any case or in any manner whatsoever, of the benefits of the present Convention by any change introduced, as the result of the occupation of a territory, into the institutions or government of the said territory, nor by any agreement concluded between the authorities of the occupied territories and the Occupying Power, nor by any annexation by the latter of the whole or part of the occupied territory.

Article 49 prohibits the forced mass movement of people out of or into occupied state's territory:

Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive. ... The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

Protocol I Protocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern international warfare that have taken place since (1977): "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating the terms of the first three treaties and adding a of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts" has additional articles which cover military occupation but many countries including the U.S. ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language are not signatory to this additional protocol.

In the situation of a territorial cession as the result of war, the specification of a "receiving country" in the peace treaty merely means that the country in question is authorized by the international community to establish civil government in the territory. The military government of the principal occupying power will continue past the point in time when the peace treaty comes into force, until it is legally supplanted.

"Military government continues until legally supplanted" is the rule, as stated in Military Government and Martial Law, by William E. Birkhimer, 3rd edition 1914.

Examples of military occupations

In most wars some territory is placed under the authority of the hostile army. Most military occupations end with the cessation of hostilities. In some cases the occupied territory is returned and in others the land remains under the control of the occupying power but usually not as militarily occupied territory.

Disputed occupations

The following presences are often referred to as military occupations, but this status is disputed by a party to the situation.

Disputed to be a military occupation by local population

• Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mostly mountainous and forested and has an area of 8,223 square kilometres — occupied by Armenia Armenia /ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated : Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the, legal territory of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (pronounced /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ az-ər-bye-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is one of the six independent Turkic states in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to^[2]

Disputed to be a military occupation by the nation of military dominance in an area

• Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia and a disputed territory, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft). It — A unified Tibetan empire was created in the 8th century, and fell apart a century later. Mongol conquests in the 13th century made Tibet part of a Mongol-ruled The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Монголын Эзэнт Гүрэн , Mongolyn Ezent Güren or Их Mонгол улс, Ikh Mongol Uls) was an empire from the 13th and 14th century spanning from Eastern Europe across Asia. It is the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world. It emerged from the unification of Mongol and Turkic tribes Chinese empire The Yuan Dynasty , Mongolian: Dai Ön Ulus/Дай Юан Улс), or Great Yuan Empire (simplified Chinese: 大元帝国; traditional Chinese: 大元帝國; pinyin: Dà Yuán Dìguó) was both the continuation of the Mongol Empire and the Mongol founded historical state in Mongolia and China, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. Although the, and four centuries later the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty The Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China further incorporated Tibet into China.^[3] In 1914, the 13th Dalai Lama signed a treaty granting Chinese suzerainty Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The superior entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a suzerain. The term suzerainty was originally used to over both "Inner Tibet" and "Outer Tibet" establishing direct rule over the former and leaving the latter autonomous.^[4] Subordination to China was reaffirmed in 1934.^[5][6] Chinese sovereignty Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided. The concept has been discussed, debated and questioned throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day, was confirmed The Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, or the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet for short, is the document by which the delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama reached an agreement with the government of the newly-established People' by both Beijing and the Tibetans^[7][8] after PLA occupied the Tibetan region of Chamdo Qamdo , population in 1999 about 86,280, is a major town in the historical region of Kham in the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region. The capital of Qamdo County and Qamdo Prefecture, it is Tibet's third largest city after Lhasa and Shigatse. It is located about 480 km (as the crow flies) from Lhasa, on the road the distance covers 1,120 km (southern. The region is still claimed by the Republic of China The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia comprising the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor islands located off the east coast of mainland China. Neighbouring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
• Golan Heights The Golan Heights (Arabic: هضبة الجولان‎, Haḍbatu 'l-Jawlān or مرتفعات الجولان, Murtafaʕātu 'l-Jawlān, Hebrew: רמת הגולן‎, Ramat HaGolan (help·info), formerly known as the Syrian Heights) is a strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and remains a highly — captured by Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the from Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest in 1967 The Six-Day War of June 5–10, 1967 was a war between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the, de facto annexed by Israel in 1981 (but explicitly unrecognized by the UN The United Nations Organization or simply United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of see Golan heights#Current status The Golan Heights (Arabic: هضبة الجولان‎, Haḍbatu 'l-Jawlān or مرتفعات الجولان, Murtafaʕātu 'l-Jawlān, Hebrew: רמת הגולן‎, Ramat HaGolan (help·info), formerly known as the Syrian Heights) is a strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and remains a highly)
• Gaza strip The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 41 kilometers (25 mi) long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi). The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city^[9][10] — occupied by Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر‎ Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula in 1948 1920 Palestine riots – 1921 in Jaffa – 1929 Palestine riots – Arab revolt – Civil War (1947–1948) – Arab-Israeli War (1948–1949) – Suez Crisis (1956) – War over Water (1964–1967) – Six-Day War (1967) – War of Attrition (1968–1970) – Yom Kippur War (1973) – South Lebanon conflict (1978) – Lebanon War (1982) – South (except for four months of Israeli occupation during the 1956 Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, was a war fought by Britain, France, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956), occupied by Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the in 1967 The Six-Day War of June 5–10, 1967 was a war between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the
  • In 2005 Israel instituted a unilateral disengagement plan Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut") was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in, removing settlers and ground forces. However, disputes remain over whether Gaza effectively is occupied The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 41 kilometers (25 mi) long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi). The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city with most international organizations holding it is.
• West Bank The West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the Jordan River in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the country of Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant^[11] — captured by Jordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia. It borders Saudi Arabia to the southeast, Iraq to the east, Syria to the north, Palestine and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea. Jordan's only port is at its southern tip, at the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba, which it shares with Israel, Egypt, and in 1948 Arab-Israeli War 1920 Palestine riots – 1921 in Jaffa – 1929 Palestine riots – Arab revolt – Civil War (1947–1948) – Arab-Israeli War (1948–1949) – Suez Crisis (1956) – War over Water (1964–1967) – Six-Day War (1967) – War of Attrition (1968–1970) – Yom Kippur War (1973) – South Lebanon conflict (1978) – Lebanon War (1982) – South and annexed in 1950, captured by Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the in 1967 The Six-Day War of June 5–10, 1967 was a war between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms. At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the
  • Jordan proclaimed a relinquishment of sovereignty to the Palestinian Liberation Organization Founded by a meeting of 422 Palestinian national figures in Jerusalem in May 1964 following an earlier decision of the Arab League, its goal was the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle. The original PLO Charter stated that "Palestine with its boundaries that existed at the time of the British mandate is an integral regional unit& in 1988.
  • East Jerusalem East Jerusalem refers to the parts of Jerusalem captured by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then taken by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. It includes Jerusalem's Old City and some of the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, such as the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The term & was annexed by Israel in 1967 (incorporated into Israeli "Basic Law" in 1980) but the annexation is not recognized by the UN or European Union.
• Western Sahara Western Sahara is a mostly Moroccan-controlled territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly — disputed between Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية, al-Mamlakah al-Maġribiyya), is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 32 million and an area of 710.850 km², including the disputed Western Sahara which is mainly under Moroccan administration. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that and the Polisario Front The Polisario, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco. The Polisario is an observer member of the Socialist International, with the latter considering it to be occupied.
• Lower Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, is a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks: Kunashir Kunashir Island , meaning Black Island in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, which are controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan (see Kuril Islands dispute)/Kunashiri, Iturup Iturup is the largest island of the South Kuril Islands. It is the northernmost island in the southern Kuril/Chishima islands, and though it is presently controlled by Russia, Japan also claims this island (see Kuril Islands dispute). It was until WWII owned by Japan, but Russia forced the Japanese living there to leave/Etorofu, Shikotan Shikotan, both in Russian and Japanese (色丹島), and one of the bigger islands of the Kuril Islands, is located in the Sakhalin Oblast of Russia. Although this island is a part of Russia, Japan maintains a claim to it along with the other three southermost Kuril islands (see Kuril Islands dispute). It is one of the islands Russia agreed to, Habomai The Khabomai Rocks (Russian: Хабомай , Japanese: 歯舞群島 (Habomai guntō) or 歯舞諸島 (Habomai shotō )) are a group of islets in the southernmost Kuril Islands. They are currently under Russian administration, but are, together with Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan, claimed by Japan — was annexed by USSR in 1945 (which considers the matter non-negotiable).
• Southern Cameroons - The Southern Cameroons Peoples Organization declares that the occupation of southern Cameroons is a military occupation by Cameroon and had infringed on the right of self-determination of the Southern Cameroons by forcibly occupying the territory since 1961, without the backing of any internationally recognized legal instrument^[12]

Other

• Occupation of parts of Kashmir by India (called "Indian occupied Kashmir" by Pakistan) and occupation of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan (called "Pakistan occupied Kashmir" by India) in 1947. India considers Aksai Chin as occupied by PRC
• Cyprus: the northern part of the island, is occupied after a Turkish invasion in 1974 (see more at Cyprus dispute).^[13]

See also

• Occupied territories
• Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC)
• Military government
• Nazi-occupied Europe
• Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
• Occupied Japan
• Palestinian territories

Further reading

• David Kretzmer, Occupation of Justice: The Supreme Court of Israel and the Occupied Territories, State University of New York Press, April, 2002, trade paperback, 262 pages, ISBN 0-7914-5338-3; hardcover, July, 2002, ISBN 0-7914-5337-5
• Sander D. Dikker Hupkes, What Constitutes Occupation? Israel as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip after the Disengagement, Leiden: Jongbloed 2008, 110 pages, ISBN 9789070062453 Openacces
• Belligerent Occupation
• The Law of Belligerent Occupation Michal N. Schmitt (regarding occupation of Iraq)

Footnotes

1. ^ Laws and Customs of War on Land" (Hague IV); October 18, 1907: "Section III Military Authority over the territory of the hostile State source The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
2. ^ Mr David Atkinson, United Kingdom, European Democrat Group, (Rapporteur) The conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 29 November 2004
3. ^ Grunfeld, A. Tom, "Reassess Tibet Policy", 2000
4. ^ By the Simla Convention (1914) and its appendix Tibet identified itself as "under the suzerainty of China.....[forming] part of Chinese territory"[Article 2, Note 2]. Full text
5. ^ Goldstein, Melvyn, "A History of Modern Tibet", pp239-241
6. ^ India Office Records, IOR/L/PS/12/4175
7. ^ Gyatso, Tenzin, Dalai Lama XIV, interview, 25 July 1981.
8. ^ Goldstein, pp812-813
9. ^ "Israel: 'Disengagement' Will Not End Gaza Occupation" Human Rights Watch. October 29, 2004
10. ^ "Human Rights Council Special Session on the Occupied Palestinian Territories" July 6, 2006"
11. ^ Israel considers the West Bank and Gaza Strip to be disputed rather than occupied territories. This opinion is based on the claim that a territory can be occupied only if prior to the entry of military forces that territory was part of a sovereign state. Because the West Bank and Gaza Strip were not recognised internationally as being an integral part of a sovereign state prior to the entry of Israeli military forces into them in June 1967, these territories logically cannot be regarded as occupied.^{[citation needed]}
12. ^ http://www.southerncameroonsig.org/2009/12/press-release-and-christmas-message-from-scapo-to-the-people-of-the-southern-cameroons.html
13. ^ Staff. Greek Cypriot properties under Turkish military occupation © 2006 - 2008 Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Original content adapted from the Wikinfo article, "wikinfo:Belligerent occupation"

Categories: Military occupation

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