International actors have played an active role in the administration of territories over the past two centuries. This book analyses the genesis and law and practice of international territorial administration, covering all experiments from the Treaty of Versailles to contemporary engagements such as the conflict in Iraq. The book discusses the background, legal framework and practice of international territorial administration, including its relationship to related paradigms (internationalisation, mandate administration, trusteeship administration and occupation). This is complemented by a discussion of four common legal issues which arise in the context of this activity: the status of the territory under administration, the status and accountability of administering authorities, the exercise of regulatory powers by international administrations, and the relationship between international and domestic actors. Alongside surveys of the existing approaches and conceptual choices, the book also includes relevant case-law and practice and lessons learned for future engagements.

Drawing on the context in which the administration of territory by international actors has resurfaced, and on the legal framework applicable to post-conflict administrations and peace-building operations, this book analyses the practice of the reconstruction processes in Kosovo, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.

This is the first comprehensive treatment of the reasons why international organizations have engaged in territorial administration. The book describes the role of international territorial administration and analyses the various purposes associated with this activity, revealing the objectives which territorial administration seeks to achieve.

The international community's practice of administering territories in post-conflict environments has raised important legal questions. Using Kosovo as a case study, Bernhard Knoll analyses the identity of the administrating UN organ, the ways in which the territories under consideration have acquired partial subjectivity in international law and the nature of legal obligations in the fiduciary exercise of transitional administration developed within the League of Nations' Mandate and the UN Trusteeship systems. Knoll discusses Kosovo's internal political and constitutional order and notes the absence of some of the characteristics normally found in liberal democracies, before proposing that the UN consolidates accountability guidelines related to the protection of human rights and the development of democratic standards should it engage in the transitional administration of territory.

Presenting a treatment of the reasons why international organisations have engaged in territorial administration, this work describes the role of international territorial administration and analyses the purposes associated with this activity.

This book offers an original and insightful analysis of the human rights inadequacies that arise in the practice of UN territorial administration by analysing and assessing the practice of UNMIK. It provides arguments based on law and principles to support the thesis that a comprehensive legal framework governing the activities of the UN mission is a crucial prerequisite for its proper functioning. This is complemented by a discussion of several emerging issues surrounding the UN activity on the ground, namely, its legislative, judicial, and executive power. The author offers an extensive and well-documented analysis of the UN’s capacity as a surrogate state administration to respond to the needs of the governed population and, above all, protect its fundamental rights. Based on her findings, Murati concludes that only a comprehensive mandate can serve the long term interests of the international community’s objective to efficiently promote, protect, and fulfil human rights in a war-torn society. UN Territorial Administration and Human Rights provides a detailed critical legal analysis of one of the major UN administrations of territory after the Cold War, namely, the UN administration of Kosovo from 1999 to 2008. The analysis in this book will be beneficial to international law and international relations scholars and students, as well as policymakers and persons working for international organisations. The analysis and the lessons learned through this study shed light on the challenges entailed in governing territories and rebuilding state institutions while upholding the rule of law and ensuring respect for human rights.

International organizations have increasingly joined states as occupiers of territory. Yet international law doctrine and policymakers have regarded occupation by states and administration by international organizations as distinct legal and political phenomena. The stigma associated with state occupation has translated into an assumption that the two operations are governed by different norms and their tactics for asserting control subject to different standards of legitimacy. This article rejects that dichotomy and the doctrinal parsing that comes with it. It emphasizes the common traits and challenges of these occupations and argues for a joint legal and political appraisal. From the legal perspective, the two sorts of missions operate under common legal frameworks; those managing both need to find the proper balance among international humanitarian law, international human rights law, local law, and any mandate from an international organization. As a political matter, each encounters resistance from those in the territory opposed to its presence, leading to coercive responses whose legitimacy will be questioned from within and outside the territory. The article concludes with some modest thoughts on how each sort of occupier might learn something from the other.