Bringing Occupation into the 21st Century: The effective implementation of occupation by proxy

This article examines the law of occupation by proxy which was identified by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Tadić case. In particular, this article reviews the necessary nature of occupation by proxy, the case law development of the concept and then its substantive content. The article next uses Eastern Ukraine as a practical example of a possible occupation by proxy situation. Lastly, the effectiveness of the concept is analysed to see if it could be applied in a conflict today and how the concept could be development and brought to the forefront of international humanitarian law.