Knowra Territorial integrity Territorial integrity Territorial integrity is a state's preservation of its borders and control over its territory. It is a principle of international law that limits coercive changes to a state's territory.
United Nations Charter : The founding treaty of the United Nations, which sets rules for international peace, security, and relations among states. Article 2(4) prohibits threats or uses of force against states' territorial integrity.
Self-determination : The principle that peoples may determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. Claims to self-determination can conflict with a state's claim to preserve its territory.
Kosovo independence precedent : The international legal and diplomatic debate surrounding Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia. The case raised whether a declaration of independence violates the territorial integrity of the parent state.
Military occupation : The temporary effective control of territory by a hostile foreign army, without transfer of sovereignty. Occupation gives a state control over territory without granting it legal title.
State (polity) : A political organization with a defined territory, permanent population, government, and capacity to conduct relations with other states. Territorial integrity is a protection attached to states and their territorial domain.
Use of force in international law : The body of international law governing when states may threaten or use armed force. Territorial integrity is protected chiefly through restrictions on force between states.
Secession : The withdrawal of a territory from an existing state to form or join another political entity. Secession directly tests whether territorial integrity protects a state's existing borders.
Crimea annexation : Russia's 2014 incorporation of Crimea, which Ukraine and most states regard as an unlawful annexation. The episode became a prominent challenge to the prohibition on forcibly changing borders.
Non-recognition policy : A policy of withholding legal recognition from a territorial situation created in violation of international law. States may refuse to recognize territorial gains achieved through unlawful force.
International law : The rules and principles governing relations among states and other subjects of international law. The principle derives its legal force from treaties, customary rules, and international practice.
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