The Oxymoron of Annexation: An Illegal Act of Law
Journal: Review of Central and East European Law
Year: 2025

Abstract Annexation, i.e., the forcible acquisition of territory by one State at the expense of another, has been prohibited under international law for almost a century. Acts of annexation have nonetheless taken place in the era of contemporary international law, most recently, that of Crimea and other four oblasts of Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and 2022, respectively. Given their illegal nature, these annexations are certainly null and void under international law, but are, at the same time, an