LEGITIMACY OF LAND EXCHANGE IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: THE CASE OF RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

This study seeks to examine the legality of land exchange under international law through the study of Russia and Ukraine case. In the wake of Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, followed by a war that began in 2022, it has been suggested that the war could be ended by exchanging territories that Russia has seized, particularly in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Therefore, this research seeks to explore the legal framework governing the transfer of sovereignty between states and to examine the extent to which such transfer is legitimate in the perspective of equipped disputes. In addition, it examines whether this exchange violates well-established principles of international law, including territorial honor and the prohibition of acquiring territory by force. The United Nations Charter, the resolutions of the General Assembly, and the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice will be examined in this context. We use a comparative approach in this study by looking at historical examples of land exchanges, including those that took place in European regions and between Egypt and Jordan on the one hand, and Israel on the other. In the context of any potential peace accords between Russia and Ukraine, the emphasis is on evaluating the legitimacy of such transfers.The research concludes that the process of land exchange in itself does not establish an abuse of international law as long as it is carried out with the consent of the concerned states and the approval of the constitutional authorities in both countries, particularly if such treaties are registered with the United Nations in accordance with the UN Charter. However, exchanges conducted under military pressure represent an obvious violation of international law and lack international legitimacy.