Article 42 of the Hague Regulations (HR), annexed to the 1907 Hague Convention IV, provides that a territory is considered occupied ‘when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army.’ In such circumstances, the relevant provisions governing military occupation become applicable, as codified in the HR (Articles 42-56), the Fourth Geneva Convention (GC IV) (Part II, Section III), and the Addition Protocol I (AP I) (Articles 14-17 and Part IV). It is widely asserted that military occupation, also referred to as ‘belligerent occupation’, must be of a temporary nature (see the 2024 Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, para. 106). However, the requirement of temporariness is neither explicitly included in the definition of occupation under Article 42 HR nor is it expressly stipulated in any provision regulating the legal regime of military occupation. Article 6(3) GC IV and Article 3(b) AP…
Self-Determination
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From the Right to be Consulted to the Right to No Contact: The Inter-American Court Faces Its First Case on Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation
Yesterday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published a landmark ruling in the case of Pueblos Indígenas Tagaeri y Taromenane v. Ecuador, the first case in its 45-year history to address the rights of Indigenous peoples living in voluntary isolation. The case concerns Ecuador’s international responsibility for the violation of…
Greenland and Territorial Acquisition under International Law
The United States and Denmark have been embroiled in political tensions over President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland, possibly even by force. The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, has recently met some of her EU counterparts to gain their political support for preserving Denmark’s territorial integrity. The current status of…
The Legal Debate Surrounding Greenland and Denmark: Unpacking Donald Trump’s Statements
On January 8, 2025, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump questioned Denmark’s legal rights to Greenland, stating, “people don’t really know if Denmark has any legal rights to [Greenland].” While the specific concerns behind his remarks remain unclear, they likely touch on two interrelated issues: Denmark’s historical establishment of sovereignty over Greenland, despite limited effective occupation initially, and the…
Continuity of Statehood for Deterritorialized Nations: A Range of Principles but Few Concrete Prospects
As the public hearings on the request for an advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change drew to a close on 13 December, the Court began its deliberation with much material to reflect on. The request introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in April 2023 – even if not…
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