This paper examines Israel's use of the Defence (Emergency) Regulations in the Occupied Territories in the context of their status under international law. These regulations, first introduced to Palestine by the British Mandatory Government in 1945, grant the authorities almost unrestricted powers of administrative punishment and have been the subject of much legal controversy since 1967. The arguments for and against their validity, as well as the legality of various practices they sanction, are considered, and relevant appendices included.