Illegal control over the territory of one state by another state is a complex modern international legal regime, which makes it possible to distinguish controlled occupation administrations, disguised as an alleged new state formation (quasi-states, pseudo-states) from real states that have not yet gained international recognition. Proper legal qualification in this case is extremely important, because it determines the status of the territory and its population, the applicability of certain international legal norms to it, and even the prospects of political processes regarding this territory in general. Undoubtedly, the decision regarding Crimea in 2020 and ORDLO in 2023 is a significant legal victory for our state. According to them, the “Republic of Crimea” until March 18, 2014, the “DPR” and the “LPR” in 2014–2022 cannot be considered states, but were only parts of the sovereign territory of Ukraine, over which Russia established its effective control by means of imitation state formation and using their “subordinate administrations”. Accordingly, their accession to Russia is not a form of self-determination, but can only be qualified as annexation or attempted annexation. The decision of the ECtHR in 2023 provides grounds for the final legal qualification of the war in the east of Ukraine since 2014 as an international conflict in which Ukraine and Russia were parties. At the same time, Russia bears full and undivided responsibility for the crime of aggression and any actions of its official bodies and “subordinate administrations” and the offenses caused by them. The ECtHR decision of 2023 completely undermines the efforts of Russia to legitimize the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of part of its territory, clearly defines that the aggression of Russia has been ongoing since 2014. The qualifications in both decisions will significantly affect the consideration of “Ukrainian” cases in any other international courts and arbitrations, is the legal basis for the creation of a special international tribunal to consider the crime of aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Brownlie I, Principles of public international law (6th ed, Oxford University Press 2003) (in English).

2. Stoiko O, Kresina I, Kresin O, Vidrodzhennia postkonfliktnykh terytorii: svitovyi dosvid i Ukraina: naukova zapyska (Norma prava 2020) (in Ukrainian).

Edited books

3. De‐Occupation of Ukraine. Legal expertise (Kresin O ed, State University of Trade and Economics 2022) (in English).

Journal articles

4. Kresin O, Kresina I, ‘Illegal control over the territory in international law and the status of Donbas determination’ (2021) 14 Przegląd Strategiczny 279–96 (in English).

5. Kresin O, ‘Pravovi aspekty protydii rosiiskii ahresii ta vidnovlennia terytorialnoi tsilisnosti Ukrainy (za materialamy dopovidi na zasidanni Prezydii NAN Ukrainy 13 kvitnia 2022 roku)’ (2022) 6 Visnyk NAN Ukrainy 60–5 (in Ukrainian).

 6. Kresin O, Kresina I, ‘Problema kvalifikatsii statusu ORDLO u mizhnarodnomu pravi’ (2020) 11 Pravo Ukrainy 49–64 (in Ukrainian).