Belligerent occupation

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See also Criticisms of the concept and application of the concept of belligerent occupation

Belligerent or military occupation occurs when one nation's military garrisons all or part a foreign nation during an invasion or after a war. The Hague Convention of 1907 and the customary laws of belligerent occupation govern belligerent occupation in international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention adapted in 1949 governs treatment of civilian noncombatants during an occupation. Belligerent occupation is a modern concept which distinguishes occupation from conquest, which was historically accepted under the laws of war.

Contents 1 Interpretation and application 2 Historical occupations 3 Contemporary occupations 4 Further Reading 5 External Links 5.1 References

Interpretation and application

Whether a particular situation is belligerent occupation under international law depends on both the situation and on whether those involved adopted the relevant treaties which address the situation. Thus the Chinese occupation of Tibet, for example, fails on a number of counts. Both the fact situation and the adoption of the law forks fail due to lack of international recognition of the sovereignty of Tibet and its failure when it was de facto independent to adopt, even unilaterally, the relevant treaties, or even participate in international relations which might have led to such treaties. Yet, there is an occupation, with all the usual incidents of military occupation. It is just not recognized as such under the usual interpretation of international law.

Historical occupations

• German occupation of Belguim and parts of France and Russia in 1914-1918
• German occupation of most of the nations of Europe from 1938-1945
• Italian occupation of Libya, Albania, and Ethiopia before and during World War II
• Japanese occupation of Manchuria, Indochina, the Phillipines, parts of China, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands before and during World War II
• United States and allied occupation of North Africa, Italy, Germany and Japan during and after World War II.
• Soviet occupation of Germany, Poland, parts of Finland, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe during and after World War II and during the Cold War

Appropriateness of the use of the term "occupation" in some of these cases is questioned, see Criticisms of the concept and application of the concept of belligerent occupation.

Contemporary occupations

Significant occupations in recent times include:

• Occupation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China
• Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990
• Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights, see Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Occupation of Iraq by the United States and its allies, the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq

Appropriateness of the use of the term "occupation" in some of these cases is questioned, see Criticisms of the concept and application of the concept of belligerent occupation.

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 0791453383; hardcover, July, 2002, ISBN 0791453375
• "Red Cross Report Says Israel Disregards Humanitarian Law" article by Steven Erlanger in the New York Times May 15, 2007

External Links

• Belligerent Occupation
• The International Laws of Belligerent Occupation by Professor Francis Boyle (Point of view hostile to Israel)
• The Law of Belligerent Occupation Michal N. Schmitt (regarding occupation of Iraq)

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Military_occupation" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_occupation, used under the GNU Free Documentation License