The article is devoted to the study of international legal practice of annexations and of attempted annexations in a modern international law. Various reflection of such acts of states in international law is proved and it is indicated that the condition for completion of the act of annexation is either its recognition by the international community and the subject of international law, which became the victim of annexation, or termination of such annexation; the classification of annexations and attempted annexations on full and partial is offered, features of annexation as a component of aggression are defined.

It turns out that since the use of force against Ukraine took place during the attempted annexation of Crimea, such Russian Federation’s attempted annexation is an element of the international crime of aggression, in particular reflected in the new version of the Rome Statute.

 It is pointed out that the use of the category of “attempted annexation” is possible not so much in relation to the status of Crimea, which according to international law and national law is the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, but primarily in relationto the characteristics of the aggressor State’s actions in Crimea. The use of the category “annexation” (rather than “attempted annexation”) in relation to the actions of the Russian Federation with regard to Crimea is inadmissible both in legislation and international acts and at the level of political statements or doctrine.

Bibliography

Journal articles

1. Zadorozhny O, ‘Umovy pravomirnosti setsessii iak zasobu realizatsii prava na samovyznachennya’ (2014) 17 Pravova derzhava 111–6 (in Ukrainian).

Websites

2. ‘Annexation’ (Cambridge Dictionary) <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/ english/annexation> (accessed: 22.12.2020) (in English).

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