International law sets detailed requirements for the administration of occupied territory during and after conflict. The rules are spelled out in the Hague Conventions of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and are also derived from customary law and state practice.

The laws governing occupation come into effect once a military power is in effective control of part of an enemy’s territory, even if some sporadic resistance continues. The fact that fighting is taking place elsewhere in the country does not relieve the occupying power of its legal duties in those areas under its control.

The maintenance of law and order is an essential part of the responsibilities of an occupying power. This is recognized in the U.S. Army’s Field Manual: “The authority of the legitimate power having in fact passed into the hands of the occupant, the latter shall take all the measures in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety…”

Occupying powers are also responsible for the care of the civilian population, including its health and hygiene. In particular, an occupying power must, to the “fullest extent of the means available to it,” ensure the population receives adequate food, water, and medical treatment. If supplies in the occupied territory are inadequate, foodstuffs and medical stores must be brought in. Relief agencies must be allowed to deliver humanitarian aid.

The occupying power is responsible for ensuring the education of children, and must make sure that children under fifteen years old are not left on their own.

Private property of the occupied country cannot be confiscated, though it may be requisitioned through compulsory purchase if necessary to support the occupying army. Pillage (e.g. looting by an occupying army) is strictly forbidden.

Enemy state-owned resources may be used by the occupying power to pay for military operations or to defray the cost of the occupation. The occupied territory can be required to bear the costs of its occupation so long as they are not excessive given the state of its economy.

Occupation formally ends with the reestablishment of a legitimate government or international administration that can properly administer the territory. In the case of Iraq, occupation law clearly preserves, to the extent possible, the role of Iraqis in governing their own country and facilitates the eventual transfer of all such authority back to the Iraqi people.

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