Angary ('' la, jus angariae''; french: droit d'angarie''; german: Angarie''; from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
, ', "the office of an (
courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
or messenger)") is the right of a
belligerent
A belligerent is an individual, group, country, or other entity that acts in a hostile manner, such as engaging in combat. The term comes from the Latin ''bellum gerere'' ("to wage war"). Unlike the use of ''belligerent'' as an adjective meaning ...
(most commonly, a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
or other party in conflict) to seize and use, for the purposes of
war or to prevent the enemy from doing so, any kind of property on belligerent territory - including what may belong to subjects or citizens of a neutral state.
Article 53 of the Regulations respecting "the
Laws and Customs of War on Land", annexed to the
Hague Convention of 1899 on the same subject, provides that railway plant, land
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
s,
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
s,
steamers and other ships (other than such as are governed by
maritime law), though belonging to companies or private persons, may be used for military operations but "must be restored at the conclusion of peace and indemnities paid for them". Article 54 adds that "the plant of
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
s coming from neutral states, whether the property of those states or of companies or private persons, shall be sent back to them as soon as possible."
The articles seem to sanction the right of angary against neutral property and to limit it as against both belligerent and neutral property. It may be considered, however, that the right to use implies as wide a range of contingencies as the "necessity of war" can be made to cover.
See also
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Eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
*
Perfidy
In the context of war, perfidy is a form of deception in which one side promises to act in good faith (such as by raising a flag of truce) with the intention of breaking that promise once the unsuspecting enemy is exposed (such as by coming o ...
References
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{{EB1911 article with no significant updates
Law of war
Legal terminology
Law of war legal terminology