Qualification of the international legal regime of the territory of Crimea after its seizing by Russia

Abstract

Various forms of foreign military presence on the territory of the state have been studied, such as occupation, conquest, deployment of foreign military bases, annexation, etc. The features that characterize the legal regimes of occupation and annexation and their international regulation have been identified. Among the signs of occupation is the effective control of the occupier over the territory of another state with the takeover of all functions of government with or without armed resistance, as well as without obtaining sovereign rights to the occupied territory. The consequences of the invariability of the sovereignty of the territory during its occupation have been determined, in particular, a significant difference between the international legal regime of occupation and annexation; continuity of legislation of the occupied state throughout its territory; and the legal representation of the occupied state in international relations by its government in exile. There is also a difference between the regime of occupation and the presence of foreign military bases or peacekeeping forces on the territory of the state. Characteristic features of annexation, which is currently one of the crimes of aggression, include the unilateral declaration of state sovereignty over a territory not yet included, as well as the legitimacy of annexation through de facto ownership and international recognition of this fact. Under international law, there is no legal mechanism for the transfer of sovereignty over territory to the aggressor through annexation. However, the shameful practice of de facto annexations after the Second World War proves the weakness of institutions and the ineffectiveness of the system of preventive and reactive measures to unconditionally ensure compliance with international law. The main difference between occupation and annexation is the preservation or loss of state sovereignty over the territory, captured by the aggressor. The international legal regime of Crimea at different stages after the invasion of Russian troops on its territory has been determined