Customary IHL: Public and Private Property in Occupied Territory
Source: ICRC “Rule 51. Public and Private Property in Occupied Territory Rule 51. In occupied territory: (a) movable public property that can be used for military operations may be confiscated; (b) immovable public property must be administered according to the rule of usufruct; and (c) private property must be respected and may not be confiscated; except where destruction or seizure of such property is required by imperative military necessity. Summary State practice establishes this rule as a norm of customary international law applicable in international armed conflicts. Movable public property The rule that all movable public property that may be used for military operations may be confiscated is a long-standing rule of customary international law already recognized in the Lieber Code, the Brussels Declaration and the Oxford Manual. [1] It is codified in the Hague Regulations, which provides that the following may be confiscated: “...