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Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]

Annexation

Rainer Hofmann

Content type:
Encyclopedia entries
Product:
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law [MPEPIL]
Article last updated:
February 2013
Subject(s):
Customary international law — State practice — Unilateral acts — Sovereignty — Territory, acquisition and transfer — Territory, title — Self-determination — States, equality — Territory, non-self-governing — Statehood, legitimacy — Occupation — Self-defence — Aggression

Published under the auspices of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law under the direction of Rüdiger Wolfrum.

1 Annexation means the forcible acquisition of territory by one State at the expense of another State. It is one of the principal modes of acquiring territory ( Territory, Acquisition ; see also Occupation, Belligerent ). Annexation presupposes the effective occupation of the territory in question and the clear intention to appropriate it permanently ( corpus et animus ). Either parts of another State or its entire territory can be annexed. Annexation is in contrast to acquisition a) of terra nullius by means of effective occupation accompanied by the intent to...
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