It's how the rulebook has been written and there is a certain type of thinking behind it. In order to understand it better, you will need to read parts of the manual. I think it comes down to that it's best to have rules (even though they can be somewhat arbitrary at first sight) than no rules at all.
Just imagine how you would go about coming up with rules for wars. Sounds easier than it actually is. It's easy to think of rules but you have to think them through all the way to what it's consequences will be in real life on the ground. It's not just a mental exercise with some easy to follow rules like a game of chess.
It's actually very difficult to come up with these rules because you can't just say "war is not allowed" end of story. You need to permit war but also restrict it.
This part of the manual talks about this:
11.2.1 Military Occupation as a Fact. Military occupation is a question of fact.
The legal consequences arising from the fact of occupation (i.e., that this fact is the basis for both rights and duties) illustrates how the law of war may be viewed as both permissive and restrictive in nature.
It's how the rulebook has been written and there is a certain type of thinking behind it. In order to understand it better, you will need to read parts of the manual. I think it comes down to that it's best to have rules (even though they can be somewhat arbitrary at first sight) than no rules at all.
Just imagine how you would go about coming up with rules for wars. Sounds easier than it actually is. It's easy to think of rules but you have to think them through all the way to what it's consequences will be in real life on the ground. It's not just a mental exercise with some easy to follow rules like a game of chess.
It's actually very difficult to come up with these rules because you can't just say "war is not allowed" end of story. You need to permit war but also restrict it.
This part of the manual talks about this:
11.2.1 Military Occupation as a Fact. Military occupation is a question of fact.
The legal consequences arising from the fact of occupation (i.e., that this fact is the basis for both rights and duties) illustrates how the law of war may be viewed as both permissive and restrictive in nature.