[2] Accretion refers to the physical expansion of an existing territory through geological processes, such as alluvion (the deposit of sediment) or vulcanism.
By the end of World War II, however, invasion and annexation ceased to be recognized by international law and were no longer accepted as a means of territorial acquisition.
[4][failed verification] The Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land (Hague IV, 1907) contains explicit provisions concerning the protection of civilians and their property in occupied territories.
[8]Also in the case of Mexico and France over Clipperton Island: By immemorial usage having the force of law, besides the animus occupandi, the actual, and not the nominal, taking of possession is a necessary condition of occupation.
[9]In the case of the Netherlands and the United States in the Island of Palmas case, the arbitrator ruled: The title of discovery, if it had not been already disposed of by the Treaties of Münster and Utrecht would, under the most favourable and most extensive interpretation, exist only as an inchoate title, as a claim to establish sovereignty by effective occupation.