The laws of war, also known as international humanitarian law, have long protected property against pillage during armed conflict.
In the 1863 Lieber Code, which established the law of war for Union forces in the American Civil War, "all pillage or sacking, even after taking place by main force [... were] prohibited under the penalty of death, or such other severe punishment as may seem adequate for the gravity of the offense." In the Hague Regulations of 1907, two provisions categorically stipulate that "the pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is prohibited," and that "pillage is formally forbidden."
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