XI – Military Occupation - 11.1 INTRODUCTION

 

11.1 INTRODUCTION


This Chapter addresses military occupation. The GC provides specific rules for the
internment of protected persons in occupation, which are addressed in Chapter X.
Military occupation is a temporary measure for administering territory under the control
of invading forces, and involves a complicated, trilateral set of legal relations between the
Occupying Power, the temporarily ousted sovereign authority, and the inhabitants of occupied territory.

The law of belligerent occupation seeks to account for both military and humanitarian
imperatives. The Occupying Power’s primary objective in conducting military occupation is to further the purpose of the war in which the occupying forces are engaged and to ensure the maintenance and security of those forces, but the Occupying Power is also bound to provide for the interests and welfare of the civilian population of the occupied territory.

The Occupying Power has obligations related to the maintenance of public order and safety, and the protection of  Civilians and property in occupied territory.

Military Occupation 11.1.1 – Notes on Terminology.