69. The term ‘occupation’ is used in several branches of international law, and it is therefore necessary to pay heed to the unique features of ‘belligerent occupation’ (a translation into English of the Latin term occupatio bellica). In particular, belligerent occupation differs markedly from occupation as a mode of acquisition of territory by States, where ‘[t]he only territory which can be the object of occupation is that which does not already belong to any state’.

Conditions for the establishment of a belligerent occupation regime

Belligerent occupation and inter-State armed conflicts

The linkage of belligerent occupation to war

70. As the appellation ‘belligerent occupation’ suggests, there is an inextricable tie between this species of occupation and inter-State war (bellum). Until the conclusion of Geneva Convention (IV), the logical presupposition was that an inter-State war may lead to belligerent occupation. Remarkably, the Convention turned the war-occupation sequence on its head. Article 6 (first paragraph) lays down that the Convention ‘shall apply from the outset of any conflict or occupation mentioned in Article 2’. For its part, Article 2 (second paragraph) sets forth that the Convention applies to ‘all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance’ (see supra 49). The last words imply that belligerent occupation may be carried out without any hostilities either preceding or following it.