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The protection afforded
by international law to inhabitants of occupied territories derives
largely from the
Regulation attached to The Hague Convention No. IV of 1907 and from
the
rules of customary law
of which these Regulations are a codification. The relevant Articles
of the Hague Regulations
are
Articles 42-56,
which fall under
the heading: Section
III –Military Authority
over the Territory of the Hostile State. Of these,
Article 50 is
quoted on
page 179 and
Article 43 and 46 provide as follows:
Article 43:
“The authority of the
power of the State having passed de facto into the hands of the
occupant, the latter
shall do all in his power to restore, and ensure, as far as
possible,
public order and safety,
respecting at the same time, unless absolutely prevented the laws
in force in the country.
Article 46:
“Family honor and
rights, individual life, and private property, as well as religious
convictions and worship
must be respected. Private property may not be confiscated.”
The unwarranted killing
of inhabitants of occupied territories is a war crime and has often
been made the subject of
war crimes proceedings.
The ill treatment of
inhabitants of occupied territories is also a recognized war crime,
and
there have been many
trials in which this offence has been charged.
A special type of ill
treatment, which has received attention in Volume VII of these
Reports,
and which has been the
fate of many concentration camp inmates, is subjection to illegal
experiments. It may
safely be said that subjection to experiments is prima facie
ill-treatment
and requires
justification.”
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