The Right to Resistance in Occupied Territory

Abstract: Resistance movements in occupied territory have been accepted as a concept since WWII. However, the exact characteristics of these movements and which rules apply to them, their rights and duties, have never been really clear. This thesis looks at the development of the concept of organized resistance movements and the efforts to regulate such organizations in international humanitarian law, culminating with the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, drafted in 1977. The main questions to be answered are whether these rules are adequate and if improvements are needed to protect civilians and combatants in occupied territory.