The right of conquest : the acquisition of territory by force in international law and practice

The notion that a state that emerges victorious in war is entitled to claim sovereignty over conquered territory in virtue of military victory or conquest was until recently a recognized principle of international law. This study is an inquiry into the place of the right of conquest in international relations since the early sixteenth century and the causes and consequences of its demise in the twentieth. Part 1 examines the theoretical foundation of the right of conquest and its historical importance, particularly in the establishment of the European colonial empires. Part 2 shows how the First World War, which led to the rise of the principle of self-determination and to calls for the prohibition of aggressive war, prompted the reconstruction of international law and the consequent rejection of the right of conquest. Five cases studies of the seizure of territory since 1945 - Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights; India's annexation of Goa; the Falklands / Malvinas conflict; Indonesia's seizure of East Timor; and Iraq's conquest of Kuwait - are then used to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the modern law. Korman concludes by considering the merits and defects of the abolition of the right of conquest from the standpoints of international order and justice. Widely recognized as a leading authority on annexation in international law, this book has been cited by the Venice Commission in its legal advice on Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, and has been quoted in government submissions before the International Court of Justice.
The notion that a state that emerges victorious in war is entitled to claim sovereignty over conquered territory in virtue of military victory or conquest was a recognized principle of international law until the early years of last century. This study is an inquiry into the place of the right of conquest in international relations since the early sixteenth century, and the causes and consequences of its demise in the twentieth century.

Part 1 examines the theoretical foundations of the right of conquest, its historical importance both in the establishment of the European colonial empires and in the relations between the European states themselves, and provides an analysis of the traditional law of conquest. Part 2 shows how the First World War, which led to the rise of self-determination and to calls for the prohibition of aggressive war, prompted the reconstruction of international law and the consequent rejection of the right of conquest.

A number of case studies of the seizure of territory since 1945 - including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Goa, the Falkland Islands, East Timor, and Kuwait - are used to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the modern law.

Dr Korman concludes by examining the merits and defects of the abolition of the right of conquest from the standpoints of international order and justice.

The Right of Conquest has been widely praised. It was quoted in the International Court of Justice in 2004, in submissions supporting the UN General Assembly's request for an Advisory Opinion on the legality of Israel's construction of the Separation Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"The notion that a state that emerges victorious in war is entitled to claim sovereignty over conquered territory in virtue of military victory or conquest was a recognized principle of international law until the early years of this century. This study is an enquiry into the place of the right of conquest in international relations since the early sixteenth century and the causes and consequences of its demise in the twentieth century." "Part 1 examines the theoretical foundations of the right of conquest, its historical importance both in the establishment of the European colonial empires and in the relations between the European state themselves, and provides an analysis of the traditional law of conquest. Part 2 shows how the First World War, which led to the rise of the principle of self-determination and to calls for the prohibition of aggressive war, prompted the reconstruction of international law and the consequent rejection of the right of conquest. A number of case studies of the seizure of territory since 1945 - including East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, Goa, the Falkland Islands, East Timor, and Kuwait - are used to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the modern law." "Sharon Korman concludes by considering the merits and defects of the abolition of the right of conquest from the standpoints of international order and justice."--BOOK JACKET This is an enquiry into the place of the right of conquest in international relations since the early sixteenth century, and the causes and consequences of its demise in the twentieth century. It was a recognized principle of international law until the early years of this century that a state that emerges victorious in a war is entitled to claim sovereignty over territory which it has taken possession. Sharon Korman shows how the First World War - which led to the rise of self-determination and to calls for the prohibition of way - prompted the reconstruction of international law and the consequent abolition of the title by conquest. Her conclusion, which highlights the merits and defects of the modern law as a vehicle for discouraging war by denying the title to the conqueror, challenges many of the assumptions that have come to constitute part of the conventional wisdom of our times. This is a study, not of international law narrowly conceived, but of the place of a changing legal principle in international history and the contemporary world. "... this book traces the evolution of attitudes towards the forcible acquisition of territory by states from the early sixteenth century to present times ... this study is not strictly or narrowly confined within the province of international law. Though its subject-matter concerns a rule of international law which in the past affirmed, and at present negates, the right of conquest, its underlying purpose is to examine the function and significance of that rule by placing it in the wider social and political setting of international relations. In one aspect, this study is a history of the intellectual and public debate about the right of conquest. In some measure, it is also a contribution to that debate"--Introduction