Legal Definitions - subjugation

Subjugation refers to the act of bringing a territory or a people under the complete and absolute control of another power, typically through military force or conquest. In international law, it signifies the permanent extinguishment of the subjugated entity's independent sovereignty and its full absorption or domination by the conquering state.

• Example 1: After a prolonged conflict, a large, powerful empire successfully invades and defeats a neighboring independent kingdom. The empire then dismantles the kingdom's existing government, replaces its laws with imperial decrees, and integrates the kingdom's territory and population entirely into its own administrative structure, treating it as a new province rather than a separate entity.

  Explanation: This illustrates subjugation because the independent kingdom has lost all its sovereignty and self-governance. Its territory and people are now completely under the control and authority of the conquering empire, with no remaining independent legal or political existence.

• Example 2: Following a decisive military victory, one nation imposes a new constitution and a puppet government on the defeated nation. While the defeated nation might appear to have its own leaders, all significant policy decisions, economic controls, and military affairs are dictated by the victorious power, which maintains a strong military presence and veto power over any local legislation.

  Explanation: This demonstrates subjugation because, despite the superficial appearance of self-rule, the defeated nation's sovereignty is effectively extinguished. Its people and territory are under the complete and absolute control of the victorious power, which dictates its fundamental governance and policies, leaving no true independence.

• Example 3: A colonial power establishes a new administrative system in a newly acquired territory, replacing all indigenous legal and political institutions with its own. It imposes its own language as the official language, dictates economic production for the benefit of the colonizer, and appoints all key officials, effectively dissolving any pre-existing forms of self-governance or independent decision-making by the local population.

  Explanation: This is an example of subjugation because the colonial power has asserted complete and absolute control over the territory and its people. All aspects of governance, law, economy, and even culture are dictated by the colonizer, extinguishing the indigenous population's independent sovereignty and bringing them entirely under the foreign power's dominion.