Ladies and gentlemen!
Imagine there's a magical garden in the middle of your
city, hidden and forgotten by everyone. No body looks after that garden or
claims it as their own. One day, you and your friends find it and amazed by its
beauty, you make it your secret place to hang out or your secret playground
about which nobody else knows.
So, what do you call such a garden or a piece of
land that nobody occupies or claims as their own?
It is called Terra Nullius, a Latin term that
literally means “the land of no one.”
Terra Nullius is an old concept that has been used
to describe places like Australia. You would be surprised to know that when
Captain James Cook came to the Australian shores in the year 1770, he declared
a part of the Australian continent to be British Territory as according to him,
he and his crew were the first ones to occupy the Australian Continent and
before them there was no kingdom or ruler or state that occupied Australia.
They called it as the legal concept of Terra
Nullius and on the basis of this legal principle, Britian continued its
colonization in Australia more than a century.
Accordingly, International law recognizes territory over which there is no sovereign
or ruler as Terra Nullius.
The
method of acquiring this Terra Nullius is called as ‘Occupation.’ There are
four important points that you need to know in this regard.
First, the occupation of terra nullius must be by
a state and not by private individuals.
Second, the control of the territory or terra
nullius must be effective and permanent. It should not just be on paper, or it
should not just be a photo-op.
Third, the occupied territory should not be res
communis. Res communis is the opposite of terra nullius and it means something
that belongs to everyone. In International Law, it is an area or territory that
is not subject to any legal title or ownership. High Seas, Antarctica and Outer Space
are some of the examples of Res Communis. Basically, anything that is the
common heritage of the mankind is considered as res communis.
Fourth, the Terra Nullius that is occupied should
be uninhabited, that is to say, it should not be occupied by any indigenous
communities or tribes. This was also held in the famous Western Sahara Case.
Now, imagine there is a country, Country A. It was
occupying an Island till the year 1950. However, after 1950, Country A
abandoned its control over that Island. 73 years later, Country B, goes to that
Island and occupies it on the ground that Country A abandoned it a long time
ago. Can Country B occupy that territory now? Yes. It is settled in
International Law that abandonment of territory might render an otherwise
occupied territory as terra nullius.
Lastly, you need to know that if any country wants
to establish its occupation or sovereignty or control over a territory, it does
need to prove its occupation in absolute terms, that is to say, there are no
watertight rules that govern the concept of terra nullius. That country simply
needs to establish a better title or a better case before the courts against
its opponents to prove its occupation.
While deciding such cases, the International
Courts generally look into the history, geography and the response or claims of
the International Community with respect to the territory.
So, that is all about Terra Nullius. Let me know
in the comments section whether you liked this episode or not.
See you next time.
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