Terra nullius (/ˈtɛrə ˈnʌlɪəs/, plural terrae nullius) is a Latin expression meaning "nobody's land".Since the nineteenth century it has occasionally been used in international law as a principle to justify claims that territory may be acquired by a state's occupation of it. There are currently three territories sometimes claimed to be terra nullius: Bir Tawil (a strip of land between Egypt and Sudan), four pockets of land near the Danube due to the Croatia–Serbia border dispute, and parts of Antarctica, principally Marie Byrd Land.
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👉 Terra nullius in the context of Senkaku Islands dispute
The Senkaku Islands dispute, or Diaoyu Islands dispute, is a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the Diaoyu Islands in China, and Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan. Japan controlled the islands from 1895 until the end of World War II in 1945, after which the United States controlled the islands, which it administered as part of the Ryukyu Islands. In 1972, the United States transferred the islands to Japan. The islands are administered as part of the Okinawa Prefecture.
The islands are positioned close to key shipping lanes and rich fishing grounds, and there may be oil reserves in the area. Japan argues that it surveyed the islands in the late 19th century and found them to be terra nullius (Latin: land belonging to no one); subsequently, China acquiesced to Japanese sovereignty until the 1970s. According to Lee Seokwoo, China started taking up the question of sovereignty over the islands in the latter half of 1970 when evidence relating to the existence of oil reserves surfaced. Taiwan also claims the islands. The PRC and the ROC argue that documentary evidence prior to the First Sino-Japanese War indicates Chinese possession and that the territory is accordingly a Japanese seizure that should be returned as the rest of Imperial Japan's conquests were returned in 1945.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Terra nullius
- 👉 Terra nullius in the context of Senkaku Islands dispute
- Terra nullius in the context of Territorial claims in Antarctica
- Terra nullius in the context of Marie Byrd Land
- Terra nullius in the context of Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
- Terra nullius in the context of Bear Island (Norway)
- Terra nullius in the context of Eddie Mabo
Terra nullius in the context of Marie Byrd Land
Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of 1,610,000 km (620,000 sq mi), it is the largest unclaimed territory on Earth. It was named after the wife of American naval officer Richard E. Byrd, who explored the region in the early 20th century.
The territory lies in West Antarctica, east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and south of the Pacific Ocean portion of the Antarctic or Southern Ocean, extending eastward approximately to a line between the head of the Ross Ice Shelf and Eights Coast. It stretches between 158°W and 103°24'W. The inclusion of the area between the Rockefeller Plateau and Eights Coast is based upon Byrd's exploration.
Terra nullius in the context of Mabo v Queensland (No 2)
Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (commonly known as the Mabo case or simply Mabo; /mɑːboʊ/ MAH-bo) is a landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised the existence of Native Title in Australia. It was brought by Eddie Mabo and others against the State of Queensland, and decided on 3 June 1992. The case is notable for being the first in Australia to recognise pre-colonial land interests of Indigenous Australians within the common law of Australia.
Mabo is of great legal, historical, and political importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The decision rejected the notion that Australia was terra nullius (i.e. owned by no one) at the time of British settlement, and recognised that Indigenous rights to land existed by virtue of traditional customs and laws and these rights had not been wholly lost upon colonisation.
Terra nullius in the context of Bear Island (Norway)
Bear Island (Norwegian: Bjørnøya, pronounced [ˈbjø̀ːɳœʏɑ]) is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island is located at the limits of the Norwegian and Barents seas, approximately halfway between Spitsbergen and the North Cape. Bear Island was discovered by Dutch explorers Willem Barentsz and Jacob van Heemskerck on 10 June 1596. It was named after a polar bear that was seen swimming nearby. The island was considered terra nullius until the Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 placed it under Norwegian sovereignty.
Despite its remote location and barren nature, the island has seen commercial activities in past centuries, such as coal mining, fishing and whaling. However, no settlements have lasted more than a few years, and Bear Island is now uninhabited except for personnel working at the island's meteorological station Bjørnøya radio. Along with the adjacent waters, it was declared a nature reserve in 2002.
Terra nullius in the context of Eddie Mabo
Edward Koiki Mabo (/mɑːboʊ/ MAH-bo; né Sambo) (29 June 1936 – 21 January 1992) was an Indigenous Australian man from the Torres Strait Islands known for his role in campaigning for Indigenous land rights in Australia, in particular the landmark decision of the High Court of Australia that recognised that indigenous rights to land had continued after the British Crown acquired sovereignty and that the international law doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australian domestic law. High court judges considering the case Mabo v Queensland (No 2) found in favour of Mabo, which led to the Native Title Act 1993 and established native title in Australia, officially recognising the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.