FALSE CONSENT AND UNLAWFUL TITLE: ANNEXATION REFERENDA AND THE CONSTRAINTS OF TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION

KAMBERI, Donika and Mehmeti, Sami (2026) FALSE CONSENT AND UNLAWFUL TITLE: ANNEXATION REFERENDA AND THE CONSTRAINTS OF TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION. nternational Journal of Legal Sciences, 14 (25-26). pp. 180-188. ISSN 2545-4927

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Abstract

This article examines whether territorial change can acquire legal validity when it is produced through referenda held under the military occupation or coercive control of a foreign state. Focusing on Russia's claimed annexations of Ukrainian territory, the article tests the hypothesis that self-determination cannot generate lawful territorial title where the conditions of political choice are created by aggression, occupation, or external domination. The argument is grounded in the prohibition of the use of force, territorial integrity, the law of occupation, self-determination, and the duty of non-recognition. The article advances a doctrinal claim: annexation referenda under foreign military dominance are not merely procedurally defective; they are legally incapable of transferring title. Their invalidity arises from the structure of the situation itself, because consent cannot be produced by the power that controls the territory and benefits from the result. Domestic incorporation laws, recognition decrees, and referendum results cannot transform unlawful possession into sovereignty. The central finding is that international law prohibits both conquest by arms and conquest by legal form. In cases of coercive territorial transformation, legal title remains with the territorial state, while the occupying or annexing state acquires only unlawful control, international responsibility, and an obligation to withdraw.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Unnamed user with email zshi@unite.edu.mk
Date Deposited:	18 Jun 2026 11:21
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2026 11:21
URI:	http://eprints.unite.edu.mk/id/eprint/2354

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