Illegal territoriality in international law: the interaction and enforcement of the law of belligerant occupation through other territorial regimes
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Date
2014-08-30Author
Azarova, Valentina
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Abstract
This work examines the place and function of the international law of belligerent occupation its interplays with other public international law regimes and argues that the co-application of these regimes, as well as an enforcement paradigm based on the duty of non-recognition of international law violations, can further the key objective of protecting the local population in occupied territory. The existence of an occupation is a matter of fact, yet many occupiers have pursued their self-interest in a manner that violates the rights of the local population and the ousted sovereign. Such actions call into question the legality of the continued presence of the occupying state in foreign territory. In a notable number of contemporary cases, it may be asked whether occupying states have, in effect, transformed belligerent occupations into illegal territorial regimes.
This is the first manuscript-length treatment of the interplay between the law of belligerent occupation and other, complementary regimes of territorial and foreign administration in international law. It shows that the co-application of these laws provides a standard for
assessing the legality or illegality of an occupying states actions and of a belligerent occupation regime. The work demonstrates that the co-application of the laws of territoriality, inter-state use of force, self-determination of peoples, and human rights law can enhance the interpretation, application, and enforcement of the law of belligerent occupation. The work proposes a comprehensive approach to enforcing prohibitions of internationally unlawful acts in time of belligerent occupation. It identifies a category of illegal territorial regimes and charts
an approach for operationalising the duty of non-recognition of these regimes violations through inter-state relations.