Annexation of a Foreign Territory, Military Occupation and Separatist Entities in Administrative International Law
Abstract
Annexation has been a traditional subject of interest for the scholarly debate of international public law. However, the annexation of a foreign territory has not only relevance for the relations between sovereign states, but also for the relations of administrative law.
Annexation implies the incorporation of a defined territory into the administrative structure of the annexing State and the application of the law of that State to individuals. Very recently, the Decision (EU) 2022/2512 of the European Parliament and of the Council provided that Russian travel documents issued to persons resident in Ukraine regions that are oc-cupied by the Russian Federation or breakaway territories in Georgia shall not be accepted as valid travel documents for issuance of Schengen visas and for crossing the external borders of the European Union.
This article discusses the problem of administration of an annexed territory from the viewpoint of adminis-trative international law. In addition to cases of annexation of foreign territory, this article will also focus on cases of military occupation and cases where the de facto administration of territory is exercised by de facto states.
With respect to all these forms of administration, the question of prospective recognition of admin-istrative acts appears. Beyond outlining theoretical approaches to the problem, the article also addresses those challenges arising for the application practice.