"Natia Kalandarishvili-Mueller's book is an enlightening addition to the scholarship on international humanitarian law (IHL). In particular, her essential and precise clarification of the notion of 'effective control' is very much welcomed as it has been missing so far in the relevant literature. The lack of clarity on this key IHL and public international law concept has often put not only scholars and students, but also practitioners in a difficult position when it came to establish the applicability of IHL to certain situations of armed conflict. Dr Natia Kalandarishvili-Mueller's book is thus a must have for anyone interested in contemporary as well as more classic questions relating to military occupations." Dr Annyssa Bellal, Senior Research Fellow and Strategic Adviser on International Humanitarian Law, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Editor of the War Report

"This book is an important contribution to the scholarship on the law of occupation. It offers a systematic and in-depth analysis of the role of control in establishing the beginning and ending of occupation, as well as the effect of control on substantive obligations. To this end, it presents and analyzes different conceptions of control that have been proposed in case law and doctrine. This leads to clear proposals concerning the appropriate standards to be applied in the framework of the law of occupation. As such, it is of value to both practitioners and scholars in the field of International Humanitarian Law." Marten Zwanenburg, Professor of Military Law, Netherlands Defence Academy