Knowra Military occupation Military occupation Military occupation is the effective control of territory by a hostile armed force without transfer of sovereignty. International humanitarian law limits the occupier’s authority and protects the territory’s population.
Hague Regulations of 1907 : An annex to the 1907 Hague Convention that codifies rules on land warfare, including duties of an occupying power. Articles 42–56 define occupation and constrain how an occupier administers territory.
Hague Convention IV : The 1907 treaty on the laws and customs of war on land, whose annex contains the Hague Regulations. It gave occupation administration a central treaty framework before the Geneva Conventions.
Occupied Palestinian territories : The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, whose status and occupation are addressed in international law and diplomacy. Their legal status and governance have generated sustained debate about occupation law.
Military administration : Governance exercised by military authorities, which may occur in occupied territory or under other legal arrangements. Military administration describes a governing method, not by itself the legal status of occupation.
Protected person : A person entitled to protection under the Fourth Geneva Convention because they are in the hands of a party to a conflict or occupying power of which they are not a national. Civilians under occupation receive specific protections as protected persons.
Fourth Geneva Convention : The 1949 treaty protecting civilians in wartime, including civilians in occupied territory. Its occupation provisions regulate transfers, detention, relief, and other treatment of protected persons.
Lieber Code : An 1863 Union army code governing conduct during the American Civil War. Its rules on occupied territory helped shape later codifications of the laws of war.
Iraq occupation (2003–2011) : The period of foreign military control in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, including the Coalition Provisional Authority’s administration. It illustrates how occupying powers can establish temporary governance while sovereignty remains with the occupied state.
Trusteeship : An international arrangement placing a territory under an administering authority subject to a formal supervisory system. Unlike occupation, trusteeship rests on an international legal mandate rather than hostile military control.
Pillage : The forcible appropriation of private or public property for private or personal use during armed conflict. Occupation law prohibits pillage and restricts an occupier’s use of public property.
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