Annexation means the forcible acquisition of territory of one state by another state. Historically, it was one of the main modes of acquiring territory. It could also be effected by the conclusion of a peace treaty, through which the victorious state, by threat or use of force, compels the defeated state to cede its territory. Such a transfer of sovereignty must be distinguished from voluntary cession. The prohibition of annexation is today recognized as a rule of customary international law; however, its scope and application are increasingly subject to debate. For the understanding of customary law rules, it is important to understand their historical development, which also applies to the formation of the rules on the prohibition of annexation and the negative obligation of its non-recognition. This thesis traces the development of this legal rule through three key historical periods, with particular emphasis on the current legal framework and two recent violations of the prohibition, it also addresses the question of whether the prohibition of annexation constitutes a ius cogens rule of international law. In the light of public debates in Slovenia concerning the renaming of the holiday "Day of the Return of Primorska to the Homeland" to "Day of the Annexation of Primorska to the Homeland," the thesis outlines the historical events that led to the annexation of Primorska by Italy following the conclusion of the Treaty of Rapallo (1920), and the subsequent transfer of sovereignty over the territory of Primorska region to Yugoslavia, which began with the 1947 Peace Treaty of Paris and concluded with the signing of the Osimo Agreements in 1975 and answers the question why such a renaming of the holiday is not appropriate under international law.
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