Executive Summary

Occupation of foreign territory by means of warfare can be traced back to ancient times. An important step towards the codification of the modern law of belligerent occupation was achieved with the Lieber Code of 1863. The notion and definition of belligerent occupation continued to evolve, the next stage of its development culminating in the Hague Regulations of 1907. The central idea that part of a belligerent State’s territory has de facto been brought under the effective control of the h..